Schooled in Love
by Sbstevenson2
Summary: Regina Mills has been a first grade teacher for ten years. Never in her wildest dreams did she think one conference with the father of her newest student could change so much. (Fluff, romance, some angst along the way, modern AU)
1. Chapter 1

_Okay, people, here we go! Thank you so much to those of you that supported me through writing Designing Love. I realized that I've had all these ideas for multi-chap fics, but have only written one shots (except DL, obviously lol). SO, let's dive in to this new story! I hope you enjoy it… please leave a review and let me know what you think so far! _

{**************************}

Regina Mills stands up from her desk, looking around her perfectly decorated classroom as she runs a hand through her shoulder length hair. She smiles, noting the artwork her students have drawn her over the years stapled to the bulletin board beside her desk. Teaching is not something she ever saw herself doing, always thought she was too tough to be an elementary school teacher, despite always having a soft spot for children, but one chance meeting with a former drill sergeant turned second grade teacher in the grocery store during her sophomore year of college and she knew she wanted to at least try.

She loves her students, often referring to them as her kids, and can't imagine doing anything else with her life anymore. She's tough, but warm on the inside. Children not in her class are terrified of her, the kindergarteners always hoping they don't get _The Evil Queen_ the next school year, but the kids in her class know the best kept secret in the school - Regina Mills has the biggest heart of any teacher in the building.

Walking toward the front of her classroom, she smoothes down the crease in her navy skirt. Taking a deep breath, glad the day of conferences is almost over, she prays this one goes by quickly.

"Mr. Locksley?" she queries, opening her classroom door to reveal a near empty hallway.

There's only a few other parents waiting outside their children's classrooms to meet with the teacher, and she sighs, elated this week is almost done. It's parent-teacher conference week at Sherwood Elementary and Regina Mills is relieved she's made it through them all. It's Friday and after dealing with so many parents this week, she'll be glad when she can get home and pour herself a glass of wine.

Her newest student, Roland Locksley, is an adorable six year old. Curly brown hair and big, chocolate eyes that are always so full of wonder. She expects his father to look like him but is surprised to find a man with sandy blonde hair with flecks of gray smattered throughout and crystal blue eyes. Eyes that she suddenly and without warning finds herself lost in, as if she could stare into those eyes for the rest of her days.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, she shakes the man's hand that he has stretched out before her.

"Yes, hello," he says in a rich, accented voice, lips pulling into a friendly smile. His dimples, which she recognizes from her student's own tiny set, pop out beneath his scruffy jaw. "I'm Roland's father."

She smiles, telling herself to act professional, not like some giddy school girl. "Please come in."

Closing the door behind them, she tells him to have a seat. It's a horseshoe shaped table accompanied by small, first grade child sized chairs. It's not the most comfortable but, well, conferences usually aren't that long. She's used to the seats by now, this being her tenth year teaching, but knows they can grow uncomfortable for other people.

She offers him an adult sized chair that sits across the room, the one she sits in while reading stories to her students, but he assures her that, _It's really no problem at all._

He smirks then, chuckles a bit and says, "Roland has a table and chairs at home smaller than this that he insists I sit in while coloring with him on a regular basis, so I'm used to it."

She laughs, glad to hear about a student's home life, pleased he has a parent who will sit and spend time with him. It seems small, like any parent would do that, but after a decade of teaching, she's learned not to assume all parents are involved with their child's lives these days.

"Great," she says with a smile. "Well, thank you for making the time to meet with me today."

"Of course. How is Roland doing?"

Her smile brightens at that. Roland is precious and an excellent student. She knows she's not supposed to have favorites, but she's human and compared to some of the bratty kids she's had over the years, Roland is an angel.

"He's great academically," she says, hesitating a little on the last word. "But… There have been some issues."

Mr. Locksley sits up straighter then, a concerned look in his eyes and a crease to his brow. "Oh? How so?"

"Well," she clears her throat, shifting in her seat to sit up straighter, "he's been being picked on by some boys in our class," she explains. "I've been dealing with it, of course, but Roland is starting to get very quiet in class, pulling away." She gives him a reassuring smile. "He's usually so talkative," she chuckles, which brings a light one from his chest as well before she assures him with, "I know we've only been in school for three weeks, so I'm sure things will settle back down soon." She shifts the papers in front of her slightly, saying, "But if you could just talk with him at home about what the other boys have been saying, helping him see the right way to handle his emotions, that would help a lot, I'm sure." She smiles, not wanting to seem like she's coming off too harshly.

Roland's father deflates at that, sighing out a breath and running a large hand through his hair. "What have these boys been saying?" She can see the protectiveness flare up in him, and she smiles, always pleased to have supportive parents.

Regina hesitates, though, not sure of the proper way to explain that sometimes you get stuck with spoiled children who don't understand that not everyone is the same. "Well," she breathes, sitting back a little, "the boys have been poking fun of the fact that Roland wears glasses."

Regina goes on, telling him how when Roland finally told her the other day that the boys were making fun of him, she pulled the children aside and explained to them that not everyone's eyes can see far off like theirs. She divulged to the students that she, too, wore glasses at home and contacts at work, and promised Roland she'd wear hers some days to school, too.

Robin smiles at that, thanking her for helping make his son feel included. He admits that Roland hasn't told him of this development, but he's hoping it's just because they recently moved and have been busy unpacking and getting settled into their new home.

He tells her he and Roland just moved into a new house a few days before school started. "I started a new job as head of the Wildlife department at the Storybrooke Museum, which is wonderful, but it required us to move here from Boston."

She hums in acknowledgment, casually sliding her eyes down his arms, noticing a tattoo of a lion inside a crest residing on his wrist. _Interesting. _Flicking her eyes back to his face as quickly as they had scanned down, she congratulates him on his new job.

"Thank you," he smiles, sitting back a bit in the chair. "My ex-wife travels to different states for her job as an insurance trainer, so I have full custody of Roland. He was excited for the move a few weeks ago, but now that we've been here for a bit, I'm not so certain."

_Ex_-wife. Excellent. Not that she should be wondering if this man is married or not.

"I can tell you, though," she smiles, distracting herself from thoughts of this man, "that I've already separated the kids in class so none of them sit near each other or Roland."

Mr. Locksley nods, silently thanking her. He asks if the counselor at school needs to get involved and she nods, saying, "I've already contacted him, actually. Dr. Hopper e-mailed me back this morning to say he can pull the boys into his office for conflict resolution counseling starting next week."

"That's good," he breathes, nodding his head once more. He sits back in his seat, shifting in the tiny, plastic chair. "Hopefully that helps."

"Dr. Hopper is an excellent school counselor; I'm positive he'll be able to help." She twiddles with the stack of papers in front of her, looking into his eyes. "He can also pull Roland out by himself if we think he needs one on one counseling to deal with the bullying."

He nods, saying he would like that if it gets to that point. "But I would hope after the conflict resolution you spoke of, the bullies would leave him alone. I don't want this to affect my son all year."

He makes mention of possibly switching Roland or the boys into another classroom, and she agrees, telling him that _if_ it continues to be an issue after writing the bullies up, and the counseling, then she will speak with the principal. She tells him she's already informed the other parents of their children's behavior, and they have assured her they would speak to their sons as well. Regina, of course, would prefer the other boys be moved if it comes down to it; she likes Roland far too much and is excited to see the great work he'll produce in her room this year.

"The good news," she says, leaning forward to rest her chin on the palm of her hand, "is that children Roland's age adjust easily to new surroundings. I'm sure being in a new house, a new school _and_ wanting to make new friends while _also_ being bullied all within such a short amount of time has been hard on him."

She sees his smile falter so she goes on, appeasing him with, "But like I said, kids his age are resilient. He'll be fine in no time."

She tells him he's happy most of the time, always smiling that dimpled smile of his (which, she now knows he inherited from his father). Regina focuses the conference back to his academics now that the social aspect is taken care of - says his grades are fine, and she shows him the papers that have been sitting on the table.

"Here are some assessments Roland has taken thus far," she tells him, splaying them out in his direction. He brings his hand up, his fingertips brushing hers lightly as she pulls them back into the safety of her lap. "He's very intelligent." Mr. Locksley beams with pride, his eyes scanning over the papers. She can already see potential in his child, gifted potential, and she makes a mental note to refer him for gifted testing when the time comes.

The year just started so they haven't taken many grades, but she informs him that the ones Roland has received are wonderful. "He just seems a bit withdrawn sometimes in group time, wants to argue with those boys, naturally, but I can really tell he's trying his best not to get in trouble."

He sighs, closing his eyes briefly before opening them and thanking her for letting him know. "I will be sure to speak with him at home about this. I know being picked on is no fun, but he still needs to participate in the class' learning time." He informs her that he has raised his son to live by a code, so to speak. His mother was a school teacher his whole life, so he knows the importance of an education. "If there's an issue, he knows he can talk to me, or to you for that matter. I'll talk to him about those boys, try my best to encourage him just to ignore them and focus his energy on his schoolwork instead."

There's a fire behind his blue eyes, she can tell he's a great father and has raised his son well, and she finds herself wanting to know more about this Mr. Locksley… like his first name, perhaps, and how he came to live in America when he is so clearly from England.

She smiles, breathing out a _Thank you_. She asks if he has any more questions, to which he says he doesn't. Regina reminds him that the packet of papers sent home on the first day of school contain the school's number as well as her cell phone number, "In case you ever need something after school hours."

She's hoping he definitely puts her cell phone number to good use, but, no, wait, she can't be attracted to a parent. Certainly can't flirt with him. And yet...

He smiles, thanks her for the reminder and coyly says, "I'll program that number into my phone as soon I get home today," with a grin on his face. Regina smirks, noting the way his eyes scan over her body almost imperceptibly. Smooth. She likes that.

"Excellent," she smiles, feeling a fluttering sensation in her stomach, as if someone is tickling a feather over her skin, at the thought of this man calling or texting her, even if it would be for something for his son.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, she sighs and stands, indicating the conference is over. As much as she's loathe to admit it, she can't sit here all day talking to this handsome man.

They walk to the door together, and she notices that his cologne smells like pine mixed with something else. Sandalwood, maybe? It's odd, strong, but not in an unpleasant way. She likes it, shouldn't, because this is a student's _father,_ not some man she's met out at a bar with her best friend, Tink. She needs to reel her hormones back in.

Putting her hand on the handle, she pulls it down and swings the door open. "Thank you for coming by, Mr. Locksley. It was wonderful to finally meet you."

Roland had missed the first two days of school, therefore missing the back to school "Meet the Teacher" night where she normally greets her students and their parents the day before school starts. Knowing now that they moved so close to the start of the year, she assumes they were busy unpacking and getting settled.

"You as well, Miss Mills," he grins, those damn dimples making her knees go just a bit weak as he looks into her eyes with a sparkle in his own. "And please, call me Robin."

She smiles, meeting his gaze. The air seems to have shifted, feels a bit more weighted, and she wonders, not for the first time this afternoon, if he is flirting with her.

"Alright, Robin," she draws his name out, smirking a bit. "Hopefully we'll see each other soon. And while we're on first names, it's Regina."

"Regina," he whispers into the space between their bodies. They've somehow shifted closer than she would normally stand to a parent. It's not inappropriate, just… closer… than an average parent would stand. Not that she minds. She finds she likes feeling the heat from his body.

"But only Regina _outside_ of school. Inside, I'm still Miss Mills," she informs him in jest, smirking and twitching her eyebrows up quickly.

He chuckles and agrees, saying, "Ah, well… hopefully I'll be seeing you outside of school, then."

Her head tilts. Definitely flirting. Good.

She bites down on her bottom lip as subtly as she can, trying her hardest to quell the grin that can't seem to leave her lips around this man. Not subtle enough it would seem, though, as his eyes trail down to watch her teeth sink into the flesh of her lip.

Roaming his eyes oh so slowly back up to hers, he says, "Goodbye, _Miss Mills_. Have a good weekend." Winking at her, he takes a step back and makes his way into hallway and down the corridor.

She inhales deeply, pressing her back into the metal door jamb. Her name has never sounded so sexy coming from someone's lips before. Maybe him calling her Miss Mills isn't such a great idea after all.

Breathing out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding, Regina closes her eyes and leans her head back against the doorframe as well.

Upon hearing a throat clear, she winces, turning her head and glancing across the hall to Mary Margaret Blanchard's doorway. The girl has her shoulder pressed into the door frame, a giddy smile on her face. She's taught across from Mary for six years now, longer than she's ever worked with anyone. They are quite different — Regina a bit more cynical about things than Mary, who is always there with a speech about hope when things get tough at work — but she loves the girl. She's one of her best friends, in fact.

Her brown eyes meet Mary's sparkling green ones. She's smiling widely at Regina and asking, "Who's dad was that?"

"Roland Locksley's," she answers nonchalantly, pushing herself away from the door jamb and walking a few steps into the hallway to get closer to her friend's classroom.

"Well, if I didn't know any better, I'd say someone looks smitten."

Rolling her eyes, Regina turns back around sharply and walks into her classroom, muttering a _Shut up, Mary_ on her way in. Before she shuts the door, she hears her friend giggle and say, "You know I'm right!"

Sighing, she walks to her desk to collect her things. Yes, Mary is right, she _is_ a little smitten already with just one meeting of this man.

This Robin Locksley. And she's in trouble. She can't be attracted to a student's parent… Can she?

Slinging her bag onto her shoulder, Regina picks up her coat from the back of her chair and starts to leave. Her eyes scan over the room, making sure she has everything prepared for Monday. Next week's lesson plans are already printed and attached to her clipboard, the morning work papers are dispersed at their seats, and the standards she'll be teaching next week are posted on her whiteboard. Those are the important things, at least. If anything else didn't get done, she can hurry to do them Monday morning before the day starts.

She doesn't feel like staying and doing anymore work - it's been a long week and after that conference, she feels far too distracted to focus on anything else.

Checking inside her purse that she has her room keys, she flips off the light and closes the door behind her. She pokes her head inside Mary's classroom, reminding her not to stay too late before she turns around and walks out the backdoor, ready to head home and try her best _not_ to think about Robin Locksley.

{**************************}

"Papa, why are you parking the car?" Roland asks his father Monday morning as they come to a stop in the parking lot of Sherwood Elementary.

"I just thought I'd walk you to your classroom this morning," Robin lies, shifting his eyes back to his son's through the rearview mirror. He's been caught by his six year old, though, what else is he supposed to do?

Robin hadn't stopped thinking about Regina Mills since their conference Friday afternoon. Her long, dark hair, those plump, red lips that he had tried his best not to stare at as she spoke to him and those chocolate brown eyes that he could get lost in if he made too much eye contact.

He wonders if it is acceptable to be attracted to your child's teacher. He hopes so, because he most definitely is. She is beautiful. Above that, though, she seemed caring and loving. Has to be in order to willingly teach twenty first graders everyday, right? He had gone home and told himself not to look her up on social media but, well, he's a weak man.

Her Facebook had been set to private, but come Saturday night once Roland was tucked into bed and he'd had a whisky to loosen him up, he'd stupidly requested to be her friend. Had wished he could take it back the second his finger hit "request" but that was impossible. It was out there in the cyber world and there was no getting it back.

He'd gone to bed, tossed and turned for several hours before falling into a restless sleep. Thoughts filled with his son's teacher and how she was probably filling out a restraining order on the creepy father who friend requested her twenty four hours after meeting her.

He needn't have worried, however, because when he woke up Sunday morning, she had accepted his request.

He spent an embarrassingly long amount of time scrolling through her page, admiring pictures she'd posted and different articles she had shared. She seemed like an amazing woman, but getting to know her through her Facebook wasn't how he wanted to do it.

Shaking his head, he comes back to reality, unbuckling his seatbelt and opening the car door. Taking Roland's hand, they walk down to his classroom together, Roland chattering on about how he is going to answer more questions in class this week and try to be a good friend, even to the mean boys.

Robin smiles down at his son, remembering how they'd had a very serious man to man talk Friday night about how sometimes people were mean to others, but that didn't mean he got to stop paying attention in class. He'd talked to Roland about how focusing on school would actually help him forget the bullies, and how he should always tell Miss Mills if he keeps getting picked on. Had told his son that he was a very sweet boy, everyone loves him, and if those three boys couldn't see that, then they weren't kids he wanted to be friends with anyway. He explained that usually when people picked on others, they are secretly jealous of them. Roland had perked up, asking if they wanted black glasses like his as well, and Robin had just laughed, ruffing his curly hair and assuring him that they probably did. Though, deep down, Robin couldn't help but wonder if the boys were actually struggling to keep up in class and jealous of how easy school came to his son.

Roland, as tender hearted of a child as he is, had teared up during their talk and agreed that not everyone was going to be a good friend, but he still needed to be. He admitted he'd been mean to those boys one day, but explained that he was just scared of everything - what the boys would say, his new school (it was bigger than his last, and he was nervous). Robin, of course, understood and assured him that everything would be fine. He'd get used to his new school in no time, and the bullies would leave him alone. They'd spent the rest of the night cuddled on the couch eating pizza and ice cream while watching cartoon movies. Roland had fallen asleep in Robin's lap well after bedtime, and as he carried him back to his bed and placed a kiss to the top of his head, he couldn't be more thankful for such a wonderful little boy.

"Here we are, my boy," Robin says, coming to stand just outside of Roland's classroom. "Remember what we talked about this weekend and be a good friend."

"I will, Papa!" Roland calls, giggling and wrapping his arms around his waist.

Robin crouches down to be eye level with his son, and Roland moves to wrap his little arms around his neck. He buries his nose into the crook of his father's neck and whispers an _I love you._

Smiling, Robin hugs him a bit tighter and reassures him that he loves him too.

Just then, a shadow appears over them. Looking up, he notices Regina had come to stand in her doorway to greet the other children coming in that morning. His face beams with pride when he sees she, too, is wearing her black rimmed glasses. And somehow, she's even sexier with them on in this moment - a hot professor vibe coming off of her in waves that he's positive any adult with two eyes and a libido could feel, or maybe that was just him. Roland gasps, jumping excitedly and exclaiming, "You wore your glasses, too, Miss Mills!" before winding his arms around her waist in a tight hug.

She chuckles breathily and smiles brightly at his son, wrapping her arms around his tiny shoulders. Roland pulls away, pushing his glasses up on his nose before taking a step back.

"Good morning, Miss Mills," Robin says, standing up and turning to face her fully.

"Morning!" she says, glancing up at him but smiling down at Roland once more. His son gives them both another hug before going into the classroom to unpack for the day.

Regina leans her head into the classroom, reminding her students to finish unpacking and begin their morning work. He looks inside the room, amazed at how well organized these six year olds are - it's quiet, and it seems like each person who comes in the room has some type of job to get the room ready for the day. He's impressed, and finds it's just one more reason he's glad his son was placed in her class this year.

His eyes shift back to her, listening as she greets a student and reminds another, named Austin, to turn the computers on for the day. He's still standing there, can't seem to move. He wants to speak to her, wants to know her better, but isn't sure how to go about this while standing in an elementary school.

"I, uh, I got your friend request," she says lowly, smirk firmly in place on her face as her eyes slide over to look at him under her long lashes and rim of her glasses.

He rubs the back of his neck, "Yeah, I, uh," he stammers. "I wanted to know more about you."

Praying to all the gods there may be that she doesn't find him creepy, he takes a chance and finishes with a shrug and, "You intrigued me on Friday, so I got curious."

She narrows her eyes, and he wonders for a split second if she's trying to decide how to professionally tell him that he's being a right git.

He needn't wait too long, though, because she begins to grin, biting on her bottom lip to, he assumes, quell her smile from growing too large. She had done the same thing on Friday, and just like the other day, he finds it infuriatingly sexy.

"See anything you like?" she asks softly, yet flirtatiously. "On my Facebook, that is."

And oh, did he ever. He particularly liked the pictures from her summer vacation to Greece with a group of friends. He couldn't help but to stop and stare at her in a white bikini lounging on a pool chair for a little bit while looking through her pictures.

"Oh," he breathes hotly, "Lots."

The side of her lip twists into a smug grin then, hugging another student that has just walked up before the kid walks inside the room to unpack. "Good."

He's hit with how inappropriate this could be, standing here in the open shamelessly flirting with a teacher as she welcomes her students in for the day. There's other teachers standing at their doors doing the same thing for God's sake. There is another brunette teacher right across the hall in fact, one whose eye he'd caught as he made his way down the hall this morning; she'd had a large grin on her face as she glanced over to Regina's classroom. He's positive she could hear every word they're saying if the hall wasn't so loud with children excitedly making their way to class.

"Well," he clears his throat, "I just wanted to drop Roland off and remind him to behave. We had a nice chat this weekend about bullies and how the new school was nothing to be afraid of, so I'm hoping he'll be better this week."

"I'm sure he will," she says sincerely, smiling down at another student who scurries into the room, clearly excited to start their day.

He's standing next to her, while her eyes are focused mainly down the hallway, watching for her students who are arriving. She's turned her head every few minutes to make eye contact with him during their quiet round of morning flirting before turning back to greet another student, but now she turns fully to look at him and places her hand on his bicep. "Thank you for talking with him."

He ducks his head down a touch, murmuring, "It was no problem, Regina," saying her name quietly so only she can hear. Once again, she turns back to watch down the hallway, so she's not looking at him, but he sees her smile grow, a light blush covering her cheeks.

She glances over at him, saying, "I thought we agreed to only use that name outside of school."

He chuckles, lifting an arm to rest his palm on the side of the door jamb next to her head as he tells her, "What can I say? I'm a rebel."

"A regular ol' outlaw, it would seem," she laughs, shaking her head.

She's adorable, and he finds himself wanting to hear that laugh more often.

"That I am," he laughs out, moving to stand in front of her. "Well, I better be off to work."

He peeks around her into the classroom, and tells Roland goodbye one more time. With his _Bye, Papa!_ squealed from inside, he turns to make his way down the hallway after smiling in her direction and telling her to have a good day.

As he turns, Robin catches the eye of the pixie haired teacher across the way again. She's still smiling brightly, so he gives her a slight nod with a cordial, tight lipped smile in greeting before making his way down the corridor.

The next two weeks, Robin finds himself dropping Roland off at his classroom more and more. Almost everyday if he's being honest. He just can't help himself. He likes seeing her, likes hearing her voice in the mornings. Finds himself wishing he could hear that voice in the mornings in a different setting, like in his kitchen while making breakfast, or in his bed, curled into his side. He doesn't stay long, knows she has to start the day and he has to get to work, but it's nice being able to talk to her briefly.

He's learned little things about her, like the fact that she loves the color blue, though he's noticed she prefers to wear red and black. Hasn't even seen her with any blue on so far (most of the decorations in her classroom, however, are a shade of the color). He knows that her favorite food is lasagna, and she loves to bake.

He is well aware that his morning drop offs need to end, they're bordering on inappropriate, like he's having fifteen minute dates every morning with her, but it's also not good for Roland. He doesn't need to get attached to Robin dropping him off each day, needs to let his son grow in his independence. Plus he thinks he might be an unintentional intimidating presence for the boys who have, thankfully, seemed to have stopped bullying Roland about his glasses.

"I need to stop dropping him off every morning," he tells her apprehensively one day as she leans against the door jamb and greets a little girl with blonde, curly hair that has just walked up.

"Why?" she questions, looking a little crestfallen. He's hoping that look means she likes their morning chats as much as he does. But he tries not to get his hopes up.

"I just don't want Roland to get too used to them, he needs to be more independent and be able to walk to his room on his own."

She thinks for a minute, making a humming noise in the back of her throat. "You're right," she sighs, nodding her head and tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "I guess our morning chats can't last forever either."

He chuckles, saying, "No, unfortunately, not."

He likes this side of her, the side that isn't afraid to be a little bold and admit that she likes him coming around.

"Well, I need to get to the museum," he tells her, ducking his head down in a solemn nod.

She smiles tightly, saying, "Of course," as she stands up straighter and smooths down her black pencil skirt. That damn skirt he's had to work hard at not gawking at all morning. She's paired it with a maroon top with a black cami peeking out at the top, and she looks criminally sexy, even though he knows she's just dressed professionally. "I'll see you around."

"See ya." He glances into the room to see Roland diligently working on his morning coloring page before looking back at Regina. He shrugs, smiling once more as a goodbye.

With that, he makes his way out of the building.

And the next morning, despite his morning mantra of _You will not walk Roland to class, you will not walk Roland to class, _he walks his son down to his classroom, smiling brightly at Regina when she beams up at him in greeting, a twinkle to her gorgeous, brown eyes.

He's a weak man. Maybe he'll try again next week.

{**************************}

_There was have it. I hope you enjoyed and are intrigued enough to want the rest of it lol. Like always, please leave a review and let me know your thoughts! Thanks :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks for all the amazing feedback on the first chapter! I have this and another update planned for this month. The good news is, updates should be fairly quick (ish, lol) because the bulk of the story is already written. I'm just having to go back and split it into chapters and add to each one to make it better for you guys. Anyway, here's the next part… I hope you enjoy. Please review and let me know what y'all think!_

_{***************************}_

**Chapter Two**

Regina is laying in bed one Wednesday night when her phone goes off - that tell tale ping startling her from the edge of sleep. She's bundled under her plush comforter, so she wiggles a bit, turning to grab her phone off of her night stand. It's nowhere near being cold enough outside to garner being under this huge mass of blankets, but she likes to keep her apartment cold as well as her floor fan on full blast so she can snuggle into the warmth of her bed in the evenings. She curses herself for the way she's wrapped herself up like a burrito as she fights the blankets to set her arm free, though.

Glancing at her screen, she sees it's a text from Robin Locksley.

Regina smiles and her stomach immediately swoops, though it shouldn't. She has all her parents' phone numbers stored into her device and encourages them to text or call if they ever need anything. She always sets a time limit, asking to please not be contacted past six o'clock (some parents are overbearing and will text at all hours of the night asking unimportant questions that could've just been written down and sent to school with their child).

It's definitely past six, almost eleven at this point, later than she really needs to be awake since she has school tomorrow. But she'd stayed at work late grading papers, and by time she got home, went to the gym, ate dinner and showered, she was behind her usual schedule.

Swiping her phone open, she reads _Sorry for the late text. I've just seen the note about a class party on Friday. What do you need me to bring?_

Smiling but biting her lip to stop it from growing, she replies back _That's ok. Would you be willing to bring some cupcakes?_

Definitely a question that could've waited until tomorrow, but with him, she decides she doesn't mind.

She's having a small party in her classroom to celebrate a successful first month of school. It's September now and she wanted to do something nice for the children who have been displaying positive behavior and following the school rules. Luckily after his talk with Roland, the boy had turned it around and was making new friends everyday. He was sharing his supplies and had almost completely stopped paying attention to the bullies. Granted, he's six, so he's bound to get upset with the boys sometimes. They all do. But thanks to the counseling with Archie, he'd made progress with his behavior (as had the boys that were bullying him) and would be able to be a part of the party in two days.

_Sure thing,_ he sends back with a smiley face emoji. _Any particular flavor?_

She sends him her thanks along with _Vanilla would be great, one of our students is allergic to chocolate… plus their teacher prefers yellow cake, _with a wink face and closes her phone.

As she's just about the drift into slumber once more, her phone lights up again.

_Vanilla it is then... You're up late. _

She smiles to herself, far giddier than she should be, typing back a, _Yeah, was at work too late today._

He texts back, asking how her day was, and she finds herself easily responding. Regina knows she's had shit luck in the dating department lately, and talking to this man, as much as she tells herself she shouldn't, just feels good, natural.

There'd been Daniel back in college; she had dated him for five years before they broke up and he moved to Canada for work. It had broken her heart, had thought for sure she was going to be with Daniel for the rest of her life, but he didn't see it that way. Heartbroken, she didn't think she'd ever find someone to love again. She'd dated Graham a few years ago, which had been nice, easy at least. Though she never felt for him what she did with Daniel. He'd been fun, cool to hang out with but there was never a real connection. Then she'd had a few dates, resulting in mind blowing sex with Jefferson last school year, but she'd quickly realized that good sex didn't equate to a good relationship and they'd fizzled out before it could go anywhere real. Jefferson was boring and had nothing to talk to her about. She'd rather be single than date someone who bored her to tears, no matter how great he was in bed.

Not that she's thinking about a relationship with Robin. He's the parent of one of her students. It would be completely inappropriate… no matter how much her mind was telling her she wanted this.

Robin was the most handsome man she'd seen in a while, and those dimples made her knees go weak every time. More than that, he was easy to talk to, that much was clear. He'd stopped bringing Roland to her classroom each morning, but still dropped him off sometimes (those were her favorite mornings). Each time he was there, it was like their conversation from the last time had never ended, like no time had passed.

She enjoyed talking to him, he always had something interesting to say and seemed genuinely interested in her.

Sighing, she rolled over. No sense in entertaining thoughts of that. She's positive it'd be against school rules anyhow.

After texting about her day and the funny thing little Grace had said in class, she asks how his day went.

He tells her that it was fine. _I hired a new guy today, Will, and I think he's going to bring a lot of cool aspects to my department. _

They chat for another twenty minutes, discussing work and co-workers and even what the other likes to do for fun. It feels a bit like a date somehow, even through texts, but alas, she can't let it get that far.

She decides, against her better judgement, to tell him goodnight.

_Well, I need my beauty rest to deal with these children tomorrow so I'll talk to you later._

_You certainly don't need rest to be beautiful,_ he sends back, causing her to grin sheepishly. She's thankful there is no one there to see how broad her smile is.

_Thank you. Goodnight, Robin._

_Goodnight, Regina._

Checking that all five of her alarms are set (one can never be too careful, especially in the early mornings), she locks her phone and places it on the bedside table. Regina rolls onto her other side again, trying to get comfortable. Her tiredness finally hits her and she drifts off into a peaceful slumber, thoughts of a certain blue eyed father swimming in her head.

{**********************}

The next day after school, Regina finds herself in Mary Margaret's classroom. They're supposed to be doing lesson plans for next week, but they're currently sitting behind Mary's desk eating Starburst and talking about guys.

Mary is engaged to her long time boyfriend, David Nolan, so she's rambling on about wedding plans. The short haired brunette is talking about her dress and how she needs to stop eating these Starbursts if she wants to fit into it, the color of the bridesmaids dresses (which Regina begged her not to make some god awful pastel color that would look terrible on her skin as well as the other bridesmaids) and the food that'll be served.

"The Starbursts are yours, Mary," Regina laughs at the woman's mock resistance against eating the candy, as Mary Margaret pops another yellow one in her mouth.

The brunette rolls her eyes and twirls her finger through her short locks. She's been trying to grow her pixie cut out ever since she got engaged so it'll be longer for the wedding, claims she doesn't want to use extensions if she can help it because she's afraid they won't look natural and she, _Needs to look perfect on her wedding day!_

She exclaims to Regina with an exasperated breath, "I know. That's why I need us to eat them all _now_ so I have time to work them off before April!"

Chuckling, Regina agrees, taking a pink one and undoing the wrapper before putting it in her mouth and saying they really need to work on their lesson plans for next week.

"I'd rather talk about you and Roland's dad." Mary wags her eyebrows, causing Regina to roll her eyes and shake her head.

"There's nothing to tell," she lies pitifully, averting her eyes as she huffs and searches the bag for another pink.

"Bull."

Regina leans back in her chair with a scoff and sighs. Says she doesn't know what exactly is going on. "He's really nice and makes me laugh."

She smirks, thinking of all her conversations thus far with Robin. She reaches over to Mary's computer, taking the mouse in hand and moving it around the screen, pretending to search Pinterest for ideas of phonics activities they can do.

Mary smirks, clearly not falling for her distraction, and asks her, "Have you seen him outside of school?"

Her spines straightens as she looks over to her friend. "God, no, Mary," her eyes widen at the accusation as she informs her, "I just see him when he brings Roland to school."

Regina groans, giving up the Pinterest search and sitting back in her chair. She picks up a pen to fiddle with before she slides her eyes over to Mary and slyly admits her, "And he texted me last night."

"He did?!" Mary squeals, stopping the typing she'd been attempting and turns from her computer completely to face Regina. "What'd he say?"

She tells her friend how he text about their classroom party tomorrow but ended up discussing how their days went and _things like that_. Regina doesn't want to tell her everything, but it's hard when she feels so giddy. She holds back though, just telling her friend about how he told her of hiring a new employee and how she talked about her day.

"You should date him," Mary states bluntly, smirking at Regina. She scans her eyes down and back up to her face before stating, "He's clearly into you."

"Yes, well," Regina hesitates, doodling a stick figure onto a sticky note before crumpling it up and tossing it into the trash can beside her. "It hasn't quite gotten that far. And I couldn't date a student's parent even if I wanted to!"

"Oh, you _want_ to," her friend insists, causing her to break out in a grin as she pictures his ocean blue eyes and deep timbred voice in her mind.

Mary's right. She definitely _wants_ to get to know Robin better, more so than the surface things she already knows about him. Like how he loves nature so much so that he now runs the wildlife department of their town's museum, which she's not really sure what all that entails (just another thing she wants to know more about), knows he likes the color green, and that his favorite sport is football, which he constantly reminds her she is not allowed to call soccer in his presence.

"Maybe I do, but—" she trails off when Mary Margaret interrupts.

"No buts about it. You like him. Go after him."

Rolling her eyes, she points to Mary's computer saying, "Let's just get these plans done."

"No, Regina," Mary says, turning to take her hand in hers. "You haven't liked someone like this as long as I've known you. Sure, you've dated Graham and Jefferson, but I never once saw you this chipper over either of them in all the time you were with those guys."

Has she really been that obvious? She didn't think she liked Robin _that_ much, but thinking about Graham and Jefferson, she knows deep down that Mary Margaret is onto something.

"You need to open your heart and let him in. Regina, let your heart find happiness again."

Looking into Mary's green eyes, she knows she's right. She hasn't truly let herself be happy with a man since before Daniel broke her heart.

Sighing, she smiles at Mary, whispering an _Okay, I'll try_, which causes her friend to nod with a giant, triumphant smile on her face.

She knows she wouldn't be allowed to date a student's parent, though, so she tells herself she'll just have to make it through this year, longing to be more to him than what she is now. Roland won't be her student come May, surely she can make it eight more months. Maybe.

"Good." Mary grins. "Now, let's get these plans done so we can go work off these Starbursts at the gym tonight! We also have our parties tomorrow, so we're going to have to double our workouts."

Shaking her head, Regina smiles in her direction, turning to open their teacher's edition book and finding an activity to type into the plans.

{************************}

A few weeks after Robin sent Roland to school with cupcakes for their party, he finds himself meandering the aisles of the grocery store with his son in tow.

He's always been a shit grocery shopper. He'd divorced from Marian when Roland was two and had to quickly learn how to shop for food. He couldn't exactly feed his toddler macaroni and cheese everyday, so he had to start shopping, even though he has never quite learned the skill of making a grocery list.

He always tells himself he's going to make a list and be prepared, but most of the time finds himself walking up and down each aisle picking up things that look good. Sure, he's got a few recipes up his sleeve so he buys the staple ingredients for those, but as far as planning new meals, well, he just hasn't quite gotten there yet.

As he's reaching up to grab a box of cereal from the top shelf, he hears his son gasp. "Papa!"

Looking over his shoulder and down at Roland, he queries, "What is it, my boy?"

"Look!" Roland shouts, covering his mouth when Robin gives him a stern look, clearly conveying _We don't yell in the store._

Robin turns to see what his son is staring at and his heart skips a beat.

There, in dark skinny jeans and a gray long sleeve shirt stands none other than Regina Mills. She looks casual today, more so than he's ever seen her. To be fair, he's only seen her at school, but she looks gorgeous, and he can't seem to look away.

Just then, she turns to walk further down the aisle and spots father and son staring at her with open mouths.

Her eyebrows shoot up and a smile forms on her face. "Hi, Roland!"

Roland leaves his father in the dust, running halfway down the row to fling himself into her arms. "Hi, Miss Mills!"

Laughing, she takes his hand and leads him back to Robin and their shopping cart.

He smiles at her, casually rubbing his suddenly sweaty palms on his denim clad thigh. "Hello, Regina."

"Hi, Robin," she smirks. They'd been texting every day since their conversation about cupcakes but this was the first time in a few days he's seen her in person. "You've finally found a reason to use my name outside of school."

He chuckles, saying, "It would seem so. Though, I'm an outlaw, remember, and use it even _in_ school."

She smirks as well, looking down at Roland who looks confused. He pushes his glasses up to their rightful place as he informs his father, "Papa, you're supposed to call her Miss Mills!"

She laughs, telling his son that adults are allowed to use her first name, which seems to placate his son. God, she's adorable. And stunning. But above that, she's got a great personality that he can't seem to get enough of.

Reminding himself to focus on the present, Robin asks dumbly, "What are you doing here?" mentally kicking himself. Obviously she's grocery shopping. Wanker.

"Same thing as you, I'd imagine," she grins.

"We're looking for my favorite rice!" Roland speaks up, breaking Robin's moment of reverence.

She asks him what rice it is and he discloses to her that it's the really good kind, "The one that tastes like chicken!"

Roland says his father doesn't know where it is, they're just walking until they find it which causes Regina to laugh. "I'd be happy to help you find it."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Robin speaks up, mentally kicking himself. Why the hell is he trying to get her to go away? "Only if you have time, I mean."

"I have time." She smiles. And God, what a smile it is. So bright and welcoming.

They make their way down the aisle, stopping every now and then to look at the food on the shelves. Regina has a basket instead of a cart, explains that she'd already done the bulk of her shopping the other day but needed a few more items for a recipe she plans on trying this weekend.

"I need to try new recipes," he concedes, chuckling a bit and telling her he's gotten stuck on cooking just a handful of recipes - steak and potatoes, meatloaf, chicken and rice, and a taco soup he's actually quite proud of.

"Well those sound delicious," she says, smiling at him as Roland takes her hand, a gesture he wishes he could do but knows he can't. Not yet anyway, hopefully. "But you need to widen your horizons. Try something new!"

He tells her he will, he just needs to look up recipes online at some point. Or actually take those recipe cards the little old lady is always trying to hand out near the deli section of the store.

Running her fingers through Roland's curls, she looks over at Robin and affirms, "I'd be happy to give you some of my recipes. I have them all written down in a book at home. I could make a copy for you."

He beams with a grateful nod, and confirms, "That'd be wonderful. Thank you."

Roland tugs on her shirt then, interrupting their eye contact. They make their way to the next aisle so she can pick up some tomato sauce as Roland questions, "You have recipes at _home?_ I thought you lived at school!"

"No, silly," she laughs, placing two cans of the sauce into her basket. "I have a house just like you!"

At Roland's confused _Oh…_ Robin chuckles, tapping his son on the top of his head and explaining that teachers only go to school during the day like he does, but then go home at night.

They share a laugh as his blue eyes meet her brown and they make their way through the next few aisles discussing what all Regina was making this week. She tells him she's planned to make enchiladas and some new spiced chicken pasta, hence the need for tomato sauce.

"I don't need to make too many meals during the week since it's just me," she informs him, switching her basket to the opposite arm.

The basket is fuller than it was when they ran into each other, so he holds out a hand to take it from her. "Here," he offers politely, "let me put that in our cart. It looks heavy."

Sighing gratefully, she hands it to him with a, _Thanks,_ falling from her lips. She takes Roland's hand again as Robin begins pushing the buggy.

They make their way onto the frozen breakfast aisle so Robin can pick up some waffles. He watches from the corner of his eye as Roland rambles to Regina about his love of breakfast, noting the way his son can't seem to let go of Regina's hand.

"Roland loves these," he reveals to her. Breakfast is a big hit in their household, and they find themselves making waffles for dinner with scrambled eggs some nights, too.

"So do you, Papa!" Roland exclaims, telling Regina that he and his papa eat waffles almost every weekend. Says they even eat them on the mornings that they get up early enough before school. "And sometimes for dinner too! I love breakfast for dinner!" the boy giggles.

She smiles, bending down to Roland's level and stage whispering, "You wanna know a secret?"

His brown curls flop about in his excited nod and Regina grins, telling him, "I _love_ breakfast for dinner." Roland beams brightly, and he bounces with glee as Regina picks up a box of them for herself (a low calorie, made of wheat, he notes). Roland's smile widens, if that's even possible at this point, clearly excited that he and his teacher have something else in common.

Once his cart is full of meats, snacks and Roland's coveted rice he loves so much, and Regina's basket is filled to the brim, they make their way to the line to check out.

They stand there for a beat, looking over the gossip magazines and joking with one another about how ridiculous those covers have really gotten to be.

Roland is clinging to Regina, saying he doesn't want to leave. "I want to spend the day with you, Miss Mills."

He sees her smile sweetly in his son's direction, telling him that she'll walk with him to his car if it'll make him feel better. "And before you know it, it'll be Monday again!"

Roland nods with a bit of a pout, but finally agrees, saying it _will_ in fact make him feel better if she walks to the car with him.

When they get up to the register, Robin loads her items first before placing a divider and loading his items next. Roland helps by reaching in a grabbing the items he can reach and placing them on the belt himself.

He beams up at Regina, saying, "I'm big enough now to help unload the shopping cart!"

"I see that!" she exclaims, squishing his cheeks gently between her fingers for good measure, which causes Roland to giggle. He loves watching them interact outside of school; she's got that nurturing touch that he assumes all teachers of young children have. It's sweet, and it's just one more thing to add to his ever growing list of things he finds attractive in her.

Once their groceries are scanned and paid for, they make their way out to the cars.

As luck would have it, Robin had parked four cars down from Regina. He unlocks his Jeep and cranks the engine, telling Roland to climb in while he loads the groceries.

Regina helps him, placing a few bags in the back of his car before he closes the back door. "Thank you."

"It's the least I could do," she says, taking the buggy now left with only her bags. "You saved my arm from falling off in there. I didn't know I was going to pick up so many things; I only came in for milk and tomato sauce!"

He laughs and rubs the back of his neck, saying, "Unfortunately, that's what happens when you shop with a man without a plan. You end up walking down each aisle and picking up things you probably don't even really need."

She chuckles, saying he's right, but, "I enjoyed it. Those frozen pretzels will get eaten eventually."

He grins and nods happily. "Good, glad to hear it."

They stand there for a moment, Roland loaded up and already playing on his iPad, as the two adults stare into each other's eyes. There's a tension between them, one he hopes she feels too.

"I'm glad we ran into each other," she finally confesses, tucking her hair behind her ear and gripping the shopping cart's handle with both hands, her cheeks tinting a little pinker as she smiles timidly. Robin can almost swear she leans just a touch closer to him, a notion that has his courage growing by the second.

"As am I." He knows he should just wish her a good evening and get in the car, but those damn brown eyes of hers draw him in and make him feel brave, bold even. "I was actually wondering if you'd like to have dinner with me sometime?"

For a moment she just stares at him, eyes wide as his words obviously sink in. He can see the moment it hits her, the way her jaw twists side to side and the nervous way she licks her lips.

Shit. That was not the reaction he was hoping for. His heart sinks as her eyes dart around the parking lot apprehensively. She takes a short, shaky inhale, and he steps away from her, putting a bit of space between them to give her some room. He thought they were both feeling this connection they seem to share, but maybe he was wrong.

Maybe he's been misreading all these signs. Maybe she's been so nice because she's his son's _teacher,_ and what teacher couldn't not respond back to a parent when they text or show up at your classroom door frequently. Shit. Fuck. He's been such a giant twat assuming she was as into him as he is her.

"Oh," she stammers, wringing her hands nervously around the handle bar. She looks worried, with her wide eyes and concerned brow, causing a light sweat to break out on the back of his neck. "Robin, I…"

"It's alright." He doesn't want this to become awkward, would never want her to feel uncomfortable or pressured into anything, so he states, "I know you're Roland's teacher, and,"

"It's not that," she cuts him off with a thick swallow and a shake of her head. "Well it is and it isn't." Suddenly Robin feels like he is the confused one, but he stays quiet, letting her gather her thoughts. "You're right. I _am_ Roland's teacher, and I don't even know if I'd be _allowed_ to go on a date with you…" She sighs, running a hand through her hair, adding, "So I just need to think about all of this. Is that okay?"

Hope flutters in his stomach at her words, but he tries to tamp it down. It wouldn't help him to get too excited when her body language is still tense and uncertain. "Of course," he reassures her, reaching a hand up to squeeze her bicep before dropping it back down again. It's rare that he touches her, they've shared very few in fact. Their friendship has blossomed more through text, rather than through physical contact. A squeeze to the arm there or a brush against one another here, but this feels more weighted. Most likely because he's just asked her out like a prat.

Regina smiles gratefully, grabs his hand and gives it a little tug, saying, "Thank you, Robin. I'll text you later, alright?"

Well... That's bound to be a good sign. Despite feeling like a complete idiot and hoping he didn't just completely ruin this newly formed friendship of theirs, Robin grins shyly at her, "Sounds good."

She nods anxiously then and grips the handle of the shopping cart once more. He can't help but think how panicked she looks as she turns it around and heads toward her car… not another word uttered from her lips.

Fuck.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter - it really does help in motivating me to get the updates done quicker! Lol… Here is my last entry for #OQUpdateMonth. Thanks to everyone who participated in any way they could - writing, art, reviews, etc… It's been fun to have so many WIPs to catch up on. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought! :)_

_{***************************}_

**Chapter Three**

Freaking out would be an understatement.

Though, she should've seen this coming. They've been flirting for weeks on end, ever since that damn parent-teacher conference back in the beginning of August. It's almost the end of September now, she's surprised neither one of them has combusted up to this point. They're friends, sure, texting each other almost daily and getting to know one another, but this is so much more than that.

When he asked her out earlier today, her heart had immediately shouted, _Yes!_, but her mind had to be reasonable, needed to be logical. She's a teacher. He's the father of one of her students. She's never found herself this drawn to a parent before, never felt this type of connection with any man, if she's being honest. Surely dating him is against the rules. She's never actually looked because, well, who considers dating a child's parent?

She does now, apparently.

Regina felt bad leaving their conversation in the parking lot the way she did. She would never want him to feel like he was out of line in asking her out. He couldn't have been more in the lines if he tried.

She likes him, there's no sense in denying that to herself anymore. She's liked Robin since the moment he walked into her classroom almost two months ago with those blue eyes, dimpled smile, and kind soul. She's nervous though, scared of what could happen with her job.

Regina is standing in her kitchen, changed now and relaxing in her black yoga pants and tank top with a hip propped against the counter as she cooks her new chicken recipe. While she waits for the chicken to boil, she picks up her phone. Situating her glasses back on her nose correctly, she opens up to her texts, clicking on Robin's name.

_I'm really sorry for earlier. Please don't think I don't want to go on that date with you. I do. I just don't know if I'm allowed to, you know?_

Setting her phone down, she turns the burner of the stove down a bit before the water boils over and walks to her refrigerator, taking out a bottle of water.

Unscrewing the cap, she takes a hearty gulp when her phone pings again with a text alert.

_I understand,_ he sends back. _I didn't mean to overwhelm you. _

She smiles sadly, not wanting him to feel that way. _You didn't,_ she reassures with a smiley face attached to the message. _Let me talk with my principal on Monday and see what he says, okay?_

_Sounds good. Just let me know._

Robin's texts are shorter than normal, but she did just practically turn him down not even five hours ago so what does she really expect?

She finishes cooking her pasta and settles onto her plush couch, bowl of zucchini noodles in hand and flips on the latests episode of _Outlander_. She'd missed last week's so luckily she has two episodes to watch tonight.

Later, after she's cried over the love Claire and Jamie share for one another, and she's cleaned her kitchen up, she makes her way into the bathroom.

Her apartment is comfortable. She's lived in this same one for six years now and has truly made it her own. She's painted the walls a light gray tone and decorated with soothing colors. She has pops of teal blues and greens throughout which calm her and make her feel relaxed. It helps, coming home after a long day to an apartment that isn't cluttered or decorated in harsh tones.

She has an extra bedroom along with her master one and an extra bathroom for guests to use. Her room, luckily, has a bathroom attached so when friends come to stay, she can still unwind in her own tub without being disturbed.

Turning on the faucet, she lets the basin fill with warm water as she pulls her hair up into a messy bun. It sits below her shoulders now and she makes a mental note to call and make an appointment to get it cut a little bit. She usually likes it right at her shoulders; she finds it frames her face best at that length.

Before the water fills all the way, she drops a bath bomb into the tub and watches as it dissolves into the water, emitting a rose scent throughout the room.

She turns on Pandora on her phone to play _90's hits_ before stepping in and settling down in the water. Sighing as the heat of the water covers her body, she closes her eyes and leans back to let the warmth soothe her aching body. She'd gone hard at the gym yesterday, finally pushing herself to run six miles, and she was definitely feeling it today.

After a few minutes of soaking and listening to Jewel to calm her mind, her phone goes off with a text alert.

Opening her eyes, wipes her hands off on the white towel laying beside the tub and picks up her device. She smiles in relief; it's another text from Robin. He apologizes if he'd seemed short earlier, explains Roland happened to spill a large cup of dark green paint all over the kitchen floor as he was texting her so he was thoroughly distracted. The boys were apparently having an art night before dinner, which she finds adorably charming, and Roland had tripped on his own feet, dropping to cup of paint in the process.

She laughs out into the stillness of her bathroom, her chuckles echoing off the walls, as she pictures Robin's face when the paint splashed all over his kitchen.

She texts back, assuring him that it's fine. _That must've been fun to clean up._

Robin responds quickly with a, _Haha,_ and a, _You have no idea. _She giggles to herself when she sees the upside down emoji face at the end of his message.

They spend the next fifteen minutes texting about any and everything, her sending him links from her Pinterest of different recipes he could try - simple ones that only needed a few ingredients or ones he could drop into his crock pot and let cook all day - and him snapping a picture of Roland and his artwork to show her. She smiles at the picture, assuring him that despite the paint incident, the painting his son produced looks beautiful. By the time they're finished talking, the water has turned room temperature, her skin is wrinkled and the pads of her toes look like raisins.

Stepping out and wrapping up in the towel, she dries her hair and moisturizes her legs. She spends another twenty minutes giving herself a pedicure, painting her toes a dark red to match her finger nails she'd painted the other night, before finally changing into her pajamas and climbing into bed.

{***************************}

Monday afternoon rolls around and Regina is a bundle of nerves. She'd spent all Sunday texting with Robin, sending each other funny videos and gifs they found as well as discussing different topics - favorite movie, food, and she even sent him a DIY cleaner he could try on the kitchen cabinets that still suffered from the paint massacre and a few more recipes. She'd typed some up in between vacuuming and dusting her living room and sent those over to him, which he was extremely thankful for. Robin informed her that he'd attempted to make the cleaner she sent, but his homemaker skills weren't quite there yet. He had run to the store, however, and found a spray that seemed to be doing the trick.

She'd enjoyed the day, had even gone to lunch with her friend Tink and told her all about her mixed emotions over Robin. Tink, like Mary Margaret, had encouraged her to, _Just go for it!_

Now, though, comes the moment of truth. Before she can make any decisions on whether she can let herself date Robin, she has to check with her principal, as embarrassing as that may feel.

Knocking on her administrator's office door, she peeks her head in. "Mr. Cassidy?"

"Miss Mills," he greets cheerfully, turning in his brown leather chair to face her with a warm, welcoming smile. "Come on in."

She'd caught him in the hallway earlier, letting him know she needed to come by this afternoon and discuss something with him, so at least this wasn't a total surprise to him.

Regina closes his door before taking a seat on the other side of the large, wooden desk.

"What's on your mind?"

Taking a deep breath, she lets it out slowly before tentatively asking, "I was just wondering what the protocol is for dating... a student's... parent?"

His eyes widen slightly, eyebrow tick up a notch before finding their place again, as he asks, "Is the parent single?"

She breathes out a small chuckle, nodding and telling him, _Yes_.

"The father and I have…" she hesitates, chewing on her bottom lip. Her boss is very laid back when it comes to most things, likes to buck the system and not play by all the rules, like letting his employees call him _Neal_ instead of Mr. Cassidy on most days (except when his bosses are in the building). He's only a year older than Regina, just turned thirty-four over the summer, so calling him Neal feels more natural, anyway. As laid back as he may seem, though, she isn't sure how he's going to take this news, "struck up a friendship over the last two months."

"I see," he says, folding his hands on top of his desk. He's got his serious face on now, the one he wears during faculty meetings and classroom observations. It's the one that reminds them all he's not only a friend, but also their boss. "And who is the student?"

Regina looks around, though the door is closed so no one would be able to hear their conversation. She may like Robin, but she doesn't want it getting out just yet that she's attracted to a student's father.

"Roland Locksley."

Neal stares at her for a moment, eyebrows furrowing and head tilting. She can't read him just yet, isn't sure what he's thinking, and it unnerves her.

She shifts in her seat slightly, the leather squeaking beneath her, and she glances down to his folded hands, over to the window next to them and back to his face within the span of a few seconds. Her brows furrow, expression matching his. The longer he looks at her like this, the more her stomach starts to feel like someone has reached inside her body, twisting her organs tightly around one another. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears, thumping loudly as the blood pumps faster through her adrenaline riddled body. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything. Should've just waited until May when Roland would no longer be her student. That would have been so much easier. Shit.

"Neal?"

He sits back then, a grin slowly forming on his lips. Before the grin can grow all the way, he's laughing.

_Laughing_. Why the hell is he laughing?

Regina's furrowed brow turns into a scowl that she tries, but fails, to hide from her boss. "Is something funny?" she inquires tartly, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice.

Neal clears his throat, saying, "I'm sorry, Regina," and placing one hand on his stomach and the other over his mouth. He coughs, trying to stop his laughter from escalating.

"What's so funny?" Now she's irritated. This is not the reaction she was expecting. Doesn't know what his laughter could mean, but suddenly she feels like a child, like a _stupid girl_ as mother would say for even contemplating a relationship with a parent.

He clears his throat once again, taking a calming breath and saying, "It's just, you see, I know Robin."

Fuck. Of all the things… this is not what she was expecting her boss to say.

Her eyebrow shoot up to her hairline and her eyes widen in surprise as she stumbles out a, "Y-you do?"

"Yes," he replies with a small smile, tells her that he and Robin met right after his divorce, when Roland was two. He'd been going through his divorce from his wife, Emma, at the time. She knows from previous conversations at multiple work get togethers that the blonde had cheated on him with some eyeliner wearing, plays a guitar in a band type of man for some reason, and when he found out, he had to make the hard decision to leave her. He just couldn't trust Emma anymore after that.

"We met when I went out to Boston for that administrator's seminar I went to a few years back. You remember?" And she does, it had been a huge opportunity for their little school to be represented at such a large function, so she nods, informing him that she does.

Regina shakes her head at what a small world it really is. Neal discloses that Robin was there for a seminar on wildlife conservation, the symposiums just happened to be held in the same conference center, and they'd met on their lunch break. The two were sitting at the same table and they bonded over having sons around the same age. Henry was just shy of four at the time, making his divorce even more bitter, but Robin was going through his divorce, too, so he could relate.

"We kept in touch, found out that he only lived about two hours from here so we'd always get the boys together to do things on weekends," he explains, saying, "We've become great friends."

Not sure what to think of this new information, Regina just breathes out a, "Wow."

"Yeah," Neal chuckles, telling her when Robin got his job here in town, he was the one who helped find his new house. "I can't believe that sly fox didn't tell me about this."

She smiles awkwardly then, relieved to know Neal is friends with Robin, but unsure if that makes this situation better or worse.

"So…" she drawls hesitantly, biting her lip. "You're okay with this? With me and Robin?"

"To be honest, Regina," Neal says, leaning forward, folding his hands on top of one another, "there's nothing in the code of conduct that specifically states you _can't_ date a parent." At his words, her heart soars, finally having confirmation that there's no specific rule against the fraternization between parent and teacher. Neal goes on, though, telling her, "I think my biggest concern would be Roland and his grades."

"Of course," she agrees, nodding. "I wouldn't want him to be affected negatively by this in any way."

"Do you think you are able to keep your personal and professional life separate?" His voice takes on a more serious, principal-like tone when he inquires, "Meaning, do you think you can still grade Roland's work fairly?"

"Absolutely," she guarantees with a reassuring smile. She would never even consider giving Roland higher grades just because she and his father were dating. Roland is a good student anyway, he's being tested for the gifted program within the next new months, and declares that to Neal as reassurance. "His grades won't be affected."

"Good." Neal nods, adding, "If you ever feel they might, let me now. I can always move him into Mary Margaret's classroom for the remainder of the school year."

Regina shakes her head, telling him resolutely, "That won't be necessary," before adding a grateful. "Thank you, Neal."

He smiles brightly then, thanks her as well and says, "Go get 'em," adding a friendly pat to her shoulder as he walks her to the office door.

Rolling her eyes good naturedly, the tension she's felt all day finally melts away. Her shoulders relax for the first time since she got to work this morning, and she can feel the knot of tension she's created between her shoulder blades ease.

Walking out of the front office and back to her classroom to collect her belongings, she sighs a breath of relief, rolling her head side to side to try and stretch out the strained muscles. She'd been so nervous, but now she's wondering why Robin never mentioned even knowing Neal in the first place. That could've saved her a lot of anxiety over the last few weeks.

She peeks into Mary's classroom, seeing she's already gone home for the day, before walking into her room and grabbing her work bag and keys. She glances over her desk, making sure she has her classroom keys, and the water bottle she'd brought to school with her.

Skimming her eyes over the classroom, she assures herself she has the kids' morning work put out and the five iPad's her students share are all off of their chargers, resting in the basket where they are kept. Sighing a breath of relief that her room is in order and ready to go for the next day, she flips the lights off, shutting the door behind her.

On the way out, Regina bids goodnight to her hallway's custodian, Leroy, and makes her way to her car.

Once there, she pulls out her cell phone and dials Robin's number. While she waits for him to answer, she buckles up and turns the air a bit warmer. September may only just be coming to an end, but the air is already beginning to have a slight chill to it later in the day.

"Hi, Miss Mills!" Roland shrieks into the phone, making her break out into a wide, beaming grin.

Giggling, she greets him and inquires, "Where's your father?"

"He's putting the clothes in the dryer and told me to answer for h— oh! Here he is. Bye Miss Mills!"

Looking in her mirrors, she reverses the car out of the parking spot, laughing a, "Bye, Roland."

Robin comes on the phone and after greeting him, she informs him playfully that she is mad at him.

"Whatever for?" he chuckles, his laughter warming her even through the phone.

"I just had a nice chat with my principal, _Neal Cassidy_," she emphasizes his name for good measure, adding, "and when I mentioned the student whose father I wanted to go on a date with, all he could do was laugh."

She hears Robin guffaw into the phone and she rolls her eyes, shaking her head at him. Men.

"Oh, I'm never going to hear the bloody end of this from him," he laughs, causing her to chuckle into the phone as she turns onto the next street.

"Why didn't you tell me you knew Neal?"

"I don't know, darling," he coughs, clearing his throat. She can tell he's trying to reign in his laughter at this situation she's found herself in. "I should've thought about it, I'm sorry," he sighs. "I think I was honestly more focused on Ro's _teacher_ rather than his principal these last few weeks, though."

Her cheeks flush at that, thankful no one can see her in this moment. She likes this man so much, despite the fact that he forgot to mention he's friends with her boss before she went in there and embarrassed herself.

She breathes out a sigh, shaking her head and states, "Well, Neal says it's not explicitly against the board's policy and is fine with him as long as Roland's school work isn't affected by anything between us."

"Us," he says sweetly, humming into the phone. "Now I like the sound of that."

She smiles demurely, her stomach doing a flip on the inside, as she whispers, "Me, too."

"So," he continues, sounding more excited, "How about dinner Saturday night?"

Beaming, she replies with a joyful, "That sounds lovely."

They talk for a few more minutes, planning where they should go on their date, while Robin groans playfully and says he doesn't know how he's going to make it four more days until he can take her out.

"I think you'll survive," she replies sarcastically, giggling at him.

He informs her he's going to go ahead and ask Jasmine, his neighbor who usually sits for him, to watch Roland Saturday night before he makes a reservation anywhere. "If she can't watch him, we might be having date night at my place while the lad sleeps down the hall."

She lets out an amused puff of air, saying that'd be fine, too, "Though I suspect I'd have to cook since you're still learning," she ribs, causing him to scoff and mutter an amusing _Oi!_, claiming he has several recipes he could impress her with.

Shaking her head with a smile, Regina assures him that she knows he could, and tells him to let her know about Jasmine.

As they say their goodbyes and she hangs up, she's pulling into her parking deck with a wide smile on her face, already planning her outfit for her first date with Robin Locksley.

{***************************}

Saturday finally rolls around and Robin feels like a teenage boy anticipating his first real date. He's been talking to Regina each night on the phone and they'd sent a few texts throughout the work days, her finding time on her lunch break to check how his day is going and vice versa.

Luckily, Jasmine was able to watch Roland tonight. She is in college and has lived in the house next door to him for the past two years. She lives there with her best friends Belle and Tiana. The rent is reasonable when split between three college students (whose parents help them out a little bit, he suspects) so he's been fortunate enough to have a semi-permanent babysitter at all times. She's a sweet girl, very focused on her studies, is currently trying to get into medical school for next year, so she's home a lot burning the midnight oil, which bodes well for the few occasions Robin needs someone to watch his little boy.

Jasmine arrives with a, _Lookin good, boss!,_ and Robin chuckles, straightening his tie and telling her that Roland is in his room playing.

He calls up to Roland that Jasmine is here and before he's even done taking his next breath, his son's feet are clambering on the hardwood floors as a, _Jasminnneeee!_ echoes down the hall.

Jasmine chuckles, catching Roland as he throws himself into her arms.

After kissing his son on the head with a, _Be good for her_, Robin makes his way out of the house and into his car.

He arrives at Regina's place ten minutes earlier than planned. Not wanting to seem too over-eager, he waits a few minutes in the parking garage before going up, checking social media and texting Jasmine to make sure everything is okay at home still. When he knocks on her front door, he's still six minutes early, but, well, he's been anticipating this date for almost two months now, and he is more than ready to take this amazing woman out.

When she opens the door, he suddenly forgets how to breathe. It's as if someone has punched him in the gut.

He'd told her to dress up, he wanted to take her somewhere nice, and to say she looks nice is an understatement. She's wearing a bright red dress that sits just below her knees. It has short sleeves and a tiny collar, but his favorite part is the peephole at the top of the dress, flashing just enough skin when she moves to open the door wider to keep his eyes roaming down there. He's not sure how he's going to concentrate all night. His eyes linger down her body, noting the dress fits her like a glove, like it was tailor made to fit those curves of hers. She's wearing black heels, giving her a few more inches of height. Damn, she looks good.

His navy slacks and jacket with a light blue button up underneath and a pinstriped tie don't even come close to how beautiful she looks.

Mouth feeling dry, he swallows thickly, trying to find his words. He realizes he's been staring at her far longer than one should before speaking when he sees the grin spreading across her face.

"Wow," he breathes out, causing a blush to rise onto her cheeks as he shakes his head, as if coming from out of a fog. "You look... stunning."

She smiles before biting her plump, bottom lip that she's colored a deep shade of crimson. "Thank you. You clean up nicely yourself."

He's usually dressed for work when she sees him at her classroom, but he supposes the tie and jacket give him a bit of a sharper look.

"Are you ready to go?" he asks, holding his arm out for her to take.

She tells him she just needs to grab her purse as she turns and takes a few steps over to her entryway table. And _fuck_, if he thought the dress was a hit from the front, it's a home run from the back. Her ass looks amazing and he has the sudden urge to caress it, holding its weight in his hand for as long as she'll grant him the privilege. Grabbing her black leather purse, she pivots around smiling and saying, "Let's go."

He takes her arm in his and leads her down to the parking garage, commenting on how nice it is that her building provides parking for them. He knows so many people that live in apartment complexes that have to find parking on the street.

She divulges that she'd love to live in a house with a garage, but, "I've lived here for six years and for right now, it still feels like home."

Getting into his car, they drive to the restaurant. He's taking her to Main Street Eatery, the nicest and most upscale dining establishment he's found in Storybrooke in the just under three months he's been here.

Walking in, Regina lets out a small gasp. "This place is beautiful. I've always driven past here and wondered what it'd be like inside."

He agrees with a, "Yeah, it is," thanking his lucky stars he's brought her somewhere she's never been. Being new to town, he wasn't sure if he could impress her on this date, but it seems he did, and he couldn't be happier. He wants to make her happy, wants to cause that gorgeous smile to grow on her face.

Once seated across from one another, Robin orders the house Pinot Noir for them and they sip on their waters as they wait for it be brought over.

They take a moment to peruse their menus, Regina letting out a small giggle that she covers with her hand.

"Oi, what's so funny over there?" he jokes, reaching across the table to take her hand that rests on top of the tablecloth.

She glances at their hands, turning hers over to rest more comfortably in his and looks up into her eyes. "These food selections…" she trails off, pointing to the menu.

"I noticed that, too," he chuckles, glancing back down at the small menu. "Not very many choices, are there?"

He'd noticed as soon as he'd opened his menu that there were only about six entrees to choose from, causing his brow to wrinkle. John, his right hand man at work, had warned him that the fanciest restaurant in town did things a little differently than Granny's or Bella Notte did, and now he sees what his friend meant.

"At least they're good choices," she adds with a grin, saying that a place like this is far out of a teacher's budget so she's used to more selections.

He smiles then, pleased he's able to bring her somewhere she normally couldn't even afford unless she saved up for weeks on end. "Aye, they are indeed. What are you thinking of having?"

Humming, she looks back at the menu one more time, saying she's between the wood grilled chicken breast or the pan seared fish special.

"Both fine choices, I'm sure," he says as the waiter delivers their wine, pouring them each a small taste into their glasses. Once assuring the waiter the selection was fine, he sets it in the bucket and asks if they're ready to order.

She orders her meal, deciding to go with the grilled chicken and vegetables, and he orders his wood grilled steak and potatoes, so the waiter leaves, giving them a chance to discuss topics they have yet to cover in all their conversations thus far.

"Tell me about your family," he starts, taking a sip of his wine.

As she swallows her sip, she sets her glass down and twists her lips a bit in clear apprehension.

Shit. Maybe that was the wrong question to start out with.

"Well," she states, hesitating over her words for a moment. "That's... complicated."

"I'm sorry," he apologizes, his brow furrowing slightly as she shakes her head a bit. "If you'd rather not share, we can talk about something else."

She shakes her head again and promises, "No, no, it's fine." She smiles over at him, interlocking their hands that still rest together on the table. Her other hand plays with the stem of her wine glass as she reveals, "I was very close with my father growing up. We would go to the stables almost every weekend and ride horses. I loved it."

She beams brightly, fondly, at the memory, causing a smile to form on his face as well. "That sounds like fun."

"It was. Daddy passed away though when I was in high school, my sophomore year, and I haven't been back to the stables but a few times since then."

"Oh, Regina," he breathes, giving her hand a little squeeze. "I'm so sorry."

He can't imagine the pain of losing a parent you love so young. His father died when he was young, but was a right prick, so besides being an angry lad, he didn't experience the pain of missing him too much. His mum is a wonderful lady, though, and he loves her more than almost anyone in this world, misses her greatly while she still lives in London. He and his mother are very close, so he can only imagine the sorrow she's gone through since losing her father.

"It's fine." She waves her free hand around in the air, saying it was a long time ago. She still misses him, of course, but the pain is different the more time that passes.

He tells her he understands, his father passed away when he was young. He doesn't go into too much detail, but relates to her, saying he knows what it feels like to lose a parent.

"What about your mum? Are you close with her?"

She laughs dryly at that, rolling her eyes to the side a bit and back to his. "She's a complete and total bitch."

Well, fuck. Strike two in the questions department.

"I'm really winning at asking you questions tonight, aren't I?"

She laughs then, pushing her hair behind her ear and assuring him it's fine. "I don't mind, really. My mother just never really cared about me or my father. I never quite knew why Daddy stayed with her as long as he did."

She explains how her mother is the vice president of marketing for _Golden Advertisements_. Says her mother, Cora, has worked there her entire life.

"I never see her, thankfully," she adds, saying Gold's company is run out of New York, and her mother believes driving seven hours for anyone or anything is completely absurd and out of the question.

She chuckles at his stunned expression, shrugging and saying, "It's for the best, really. She was never that great for my self esteem growing up, so I'd rather not see her."

He leans back then, not enough to let go of her hand though, and states that he can't imagine her ever having a reason to make Regina feel bad about herself. "You're gorgeous, inside and out, and I have a sneaking suspicion you've always been that way."

Regina smiles shyly, shaking her head but thanking him. "She only calls once a year, on _her _birthday to make sure I wish her a good one and to see if I'm still, as she says," she emphasizes cutely, gesturing with her free hand, "wasting all my potential being a teacher."

"Damn," he scoffs, shaking his head. "What a bitch."

She chortles then, head tilting back in amusement as she agrees.

Catching her breath, she asks sincerely, "What about your family?" before taking a small sip of her wine. "Is it as wonderful as mine?"

He chuckles, glad he was able to make her laugh about such a shitty situation, saying, "Quite the opposite, I'm afraid."

He tells her his mum owns a bakery in London while his dad was a former veterinarian before he passed, "Mum is old enough to retire, but she claims running her bakery keeps her young," he laughs.

"Sounds like she's a hoot to be around," she smiles, rubbing her thumb along the top of his hand.

He stares into her eyes, which are so full of passion and emotion, already knowing he wants to kiss her tonight more than he wants to breathe.

The waiter finally arrives then, setting their food down in front of them and wishing them, _Bon appetit! _

They dig in, telling each other how wonderful their dishes are and offering up a taste of each others. Regina cuts a piece of her chicken, sliding it to the edge of her plate and nodding her head in his direction. He forks it up, tasting it and closing his eyes in amazement. "That's the best chicken I've ever eaten."

She nods, agreeing before she takes his offered bite of steak. She shakes her head, saying, "No wonder they only had six options to choose from. Everyone would run out of money coming back here to try all these amazing dishes."

He laughs softly, agreeing and declares, "We'll have to come back here some other time and try the other two that sounded good."

She smiles brightly, saying that sounds like a wonderful idea.

They continue working on their meals, discussing different aspects of their lives. She brings up college, so he talks about how he went to Columbia, saying, "I studied economics at university, but quickly realized I was more interested in the wildlife around campus than anything else."

"That's impressive," she notes, taking another bite of her vegetables.

He picks up his wine, taking a sip before asking where she went to college.

"I went to Boston College, actually," she says. "I went there to get my degree in Early Childhood Education."

He does a quick calculation in his head and realizes Boston is a few hours away from New York. "Boston? Did you go there to get away from your mum?" he quips sarcastically, causing her to grin.

"Bingo," she laughs, pointing her finger in his direction. "No, honestly, they had a really great program and my best friend, Tink, had already been accepted, so it seemed like the natural choice."

He grins, swallowing his bite of potato before asking what brought her to Storybrooke.

"It's a funny story, actually," she claims, crossing her legs under the table and running her foot gently along his calf, which immediately causes his brain to short circuit. Setting her glass down, she goes on, saying, "Tink and I graduated and had no idea where we wanted to go. I had just been broken up with, and she wanted to get as far away from her family as she could. We decided Maine seemed like a good choice after one of our friends moved there with her husband."

She explains how Kathryn and her husband Frederick told them their whole last year of college how great Maine was, so on a whim, they took a weekend trip up there and decided once they graduated, that was where they were going.

"It was peaceful and quiet, but still had plenty of nightlife and things to do, so we thought," she shrugs, pursing her lips playfully, "why not?"

He smiles, telling her he's glad she chose Storybrooke. He's finished his meal by now, so he leans back, waiting for her to finish eating so he can take her hand again. It fit so well in his earlier, he wants to do it again.

"So how did you come to work for the museum?"

Robin tells her he always loved the outdoors, even as a kid he was running around in the trees surrounding his home and always digging in the dirt to discover new bugs. "I once brought home a hurt rabbit, telling my mum we had to save it."

He confesses that his mum was petrified at first of a wild animal being in her house, but his dad quickly scooped it up and they nursed it back to health. "It helped that my dad was a vet, so he knew exactly what to do. I guess I got my love of animals from him."

"That's amazing," she smiles, taking her last bite of her meal.

"Yeah," he breathes, saying, "It's one of my better memories of the man."

Her face twists, clearly not wanting to pry, but he simply smiles, shrugging it off. Now it not the time to get into it; he'll tell her more about it one day.

When she's done eating, he picks up her hand and caresses the back of it with the pad of his thumb, bringing it over to him so he can place a kiss to the back of her hand.

He says once he gave up economics, he discovered a wildlife park near his house that needed help. He worked his way up, going from a park ranger to running the facility. "One day the Storybrooke Museum called my boss and said they needed someone to head the department so my boss told them about me."

"That's wonderful," she beams, once again interlocking their fingers together. "You really lucked out."

He agrees, saying he's done pretty well for a git who gave up university to work in a park.

She laughs, saying it's great that he went after his dreams.

"How did you come to live in America, anyway? You mentioned your mom still lives in England."

"Ah," he tuts, clicking his tongue against his teeth, "yes, that's a fun story." He tells her about his best mate, Tuck, and how he'd decided in the spur of a, very drunken, moment that they were going to move to America. The next morning once the hangovers had cleared, they both were still stuck on the idea.

"We were eighteen, and moving to America just seemed like a wild adventure to go on."

She giggles as he tells her that two weeks later, they still couldn't stop talking about it. So, they'd talked with their parents, applied for colleges, and within two months, they were rooming together at Columbia.

He recounts the crazy adventures they had and all the fun they experienced. Robin informs her he still roomed with Tuck off campus once he went to work for the park and Tuck stayed in school.

After their plates have been cleared, Regina sits back and claims she couldn't fit another bite into her mouth if she tried.

"What about that four tier oreo cheesecake you mentioned earlier?" he grins.

She groans, placing a hand to her stomach. "Don't remind me," she laughs, running a hand through her hair.

After ordering the cheesecake to go and Robin paying for their meal, the pair make their way to the car.

Before they get all the way there, he spies a park just to the side of the restaurant, down a small hill. Tugging her hand and nodding his head in that direction, he says, "Let's go check it out."

She agrees, saying she's never even noticed it there before.

It must be part of the restaurant because there's small, stone steps leading down to it and a little pond lit by twinkling lights. A small swing flanked by lanterns sits beside the water, and the instrumental music from the band inside the restaurant can be heard. It's picturesque and romantic. Perfect.

As she sits down on the wooden swing, he settles in next to her, legs pressed against one another's.

"This is beautiful," she comments wistfully, looking up at the night sky. It's a clear night and all the stars above can be seen. It's peaceful, the sounds of the cars driving past up above almost seem to fade out, while the crickets and the swooshing of the pond water when the wind blows coming to the forefront.

"Yeah," he sighs, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"I've had a really great time tonight, Robin," she croons softly, resting her head on his shoulder. There's a peacefulness to this moment, a light breeze billowing the leaves around them, and it almost feels as if you speak too loudly, you'll break the moment.

"I'm glad, love," he murmurs, burying his nose into the side of her head, catching a whiff of her shampoo. It's fruity but also smells like flowers, like someone mixed apples and peonies together.

She turns her head to look at him, causing him to remove his nose from her hair to look into her eyes. Their stares are weighted, as if they both know what is about the come. He can only hope she's on the same page as him.

Leaning down into the small space that separates them, his lips find hers. His mouth covers her plump lips softly as her hand finds purchase on the back of his neck. Her fingers weave through his hair while his hand does the same to hers.

She deepens the kiss, moaning in the back of her throat. They twist their bodies a bit so they're facing each other more as his tongue traces her bottom lip.

Her mouth opens easily, granting his access to the warmth that lies inside. When they pull apart, they're both breathless, staring into each other's eyes.

"You wanna get out of here?" he sighs, running his fingers through her hair.

Standing and pulling him up with her, Regina grins, saying, "I thought you'd never ask."

Within in no time, they're back in his car, making the drive to her apartment.

He can feel the sexually charged tension in the air and hopes beyond all hope that she's going to invite him upstairs when they get there. If not, he won't be put out, won't hold it against her - it is their first date after all, and he's a gentleman; he will wait until she's ready, of course, but the way she's rubbing at his thigh as he drives tells him she might just be ready, too.

The whole drive there, he notices her touching him in anyway way she can, not that he's complaining - holding hands, placing her hand on his knee, while he in turn does the same. He kisses the back of her hand, rubs circles on her arms. They even find themselves making out at a red light, only to be alerted to the green when the car behind them honks their horn, causing them both to sheepishly chuckle in breathy delight.

When they finally get to her apartment, she invites him up, saying, "I think we both know this night isn't over yet."

He grins seductively, telling her, "I was seriously hoping not… only if you're sure, though?"

She chuckles then, nodding and unbuckling, making their way up to her apartment.

When the front door closes, he's on her in an instant. Her back pressed against her door while one of his hands is on her hip and the other rests against the door next to her head.

They stand there a beat, her free hand roams while his mouth covers every inch of her face. Her lips, her cheeks, jaw, throat, that scar above her lip, her earlobe, any place his lips can touch.

She pulls back for a second to catch her breath, smiling up at him. She ducks under his arm that holds her in place against the door, and he turns around, looking at her with a questioning gaze in his eyes.

Regina tosses the to go box on the kitchen counter before walking back over to him seductively, hips swaying, and making his cock twitch in anticipation. She grabs his tie and pulls him toward her. Bloody minx.

Lips crash on to each other's again, and she continues walking backward, pulling him with her. They walk past the open kitchen and living space, stop for a moment in the hallway, her pushing his back up against the wall and wrapping her leg around his calf. Regina tugs at his jacket, encouraging him silently to remove it. It lands in a pile on the floor along with her heels she's just slipped off.

She's kissing down Robin's throat, making him moan out, _Regina_. She smirks then, pressing her lips to his again. Before pulling away, she bites down on his lip which he can't help but return.

He soothes the bite by licking her lip before pressing his to hers again. He slips out of his shoes now, too, leaving them with his jacket. His hands tangle in her hair, holding her in place for the moment so he can enjoy the feel of her lips on his again.

Pulling back, she looks up into his eyes while her hand reaches down, rubbing over his erection through his dress pants. His eyes roll to the back of his head, and he lets out a guttural groan of her name once more. She leans in closer then, nipping at his ear and moving her lips down to suck on his pulse point.

"I think I know what I want to do before this date ends," she whispers hotly into his ear, nipping the lobe to punctuate her words.

Opening his eyes to look into her chocolate brown ones, which are full of hunger and desire, just like his, he pants out a, "What's that?"

Lowering her eyes to glance at where her hand rests on his erect member, she tugs on the nearest belt loop of his pants, pulling him a touch closer and says, "You."

He presses his lips to her, teeth clashing before they pull back a tiny bit, fitting their lips together perfectly. He likes the way her lips feel on his, so smooth and full. Would kiss her every moment of the day if he could.

When they pull apart, she whispers in a throaty voice, "My bedroom is the next door."

Groaning, he takes her hand and scurries to it, causing her to giggle.

Once inside, he places his hands on her hips and walks her backward to the bed. She falls back with a small grunt, pulling him down on top of her by his tie.

His erection is pressing into her thigh by now when he leans up to caress her cheek. God, she's the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes upon.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" He's never one to assume, would hate for her to get lost in a moment of passion and then regret her decision in the morning. This is only a first date after all.

He's normally more of a gentleman, waits a bit longer before going all the way, but they've been flirting with each other for two months now. Two months of revving each other up, so he's more than ready, and she seems more than ready herself as well.

"Definitely," she growls, undoing his tie and tossing it behind her head.

She sits up, reaching behind her for the zipper of her dress. His hands replace hers and he slides the zipper down slowly, teasing both of them as he enjoys the view of every inch of skin that is revealed to him. He presses open mouthed kisses to each new spot of skin, licking and sucking every few inches, causing Regina to squirm underneath his ministrations.

She slips the sleeves of her dress off and lays down, letting him remove the rest of it from her body. He tosses it away, her red dress fluttering somewhere across the room along with his shirt.

Grinning, she reaches for his belt and quickly removes it along with his pants. Leaning down once more, Robin covers her mouth with his as she sighs into their kiss. His lips trail a wet path down from her lips to her neck and onto her navel.

Regina writhes a bit, running her fingers through his hair. He looks up at her and sees her reaching to unclasp her black bra.

Christ, she is a vision.

Once her breasts are exposed to him, he bites his bottom lip before licking them and making his way back up. Taking a taught nipple in his mouth, she moans out a, _Yes,_ and encourages him to continue.

His hands roam while his tongue works over her nipples, landing on the top of her black, lace thong. It matches her bra perfectly, and he finds that detail so sexy - not that he cares what her undergarments look like in the end, hell, she could be wearing a paper sack and he'd find her sexy. With her help, they get it off, along with his boxers and his fingers find her folds, tracing light passes along her center. He sinks one finger inside, pumping in and out to get a good feel of her. She's already so wet, and fuck, he can't wait to taste her. Her wet heat already feels amazing on his digits, he's inserted a second one now, and he can only imagine what she'll feel like wrapped around his cock, too.

His mouth makes its descent to her core where he kisses her inner thigh, nipping gently and causing Regina to giggle breathily. Robin spends a few moments there, sucking and placing kisses to her skin, teasing her for what's to come before diving in. His tongue takes long, broad strokes up and down her center, causing Regina to let out a loud gasp.

She moans out his name along with a, _Mmmm, g-godddd_, one hand fisting in the sheets beside her as her other gropes her breast.

He pulls back long enough to take a look at her, breathing out a, "Fuck, love, so good," before going back to teasing her with flicks of his tongue. She tastes incredible, just as he knew she would, and he almost doesn't want this to end - could spend the rest of his natural born life right here between her legs and die a happy man.

His fingers join his mouth, rubbing circles on her clit. He can feel the fluttering she makes around his fingers, and she lets out a, "Fuck, Robin!" before clasping her hand in his hair, pulling him closer to her core.

"Are you close?" he asks as he pulls back again, licking her flavor from his lips.

She sighs and tells him, "Mmhmm, so clo-ose."

Never wanting to just guess what a woman needs, but definitely wanting to pleasure her, he asks, "What do you need, love?"

"More…" she moans, hooking her ankle around his calf and urging him back toward her with a, "Harder." Regina gives him a smirk in response to the heated grunt that's just escaped his lips, and she adds a sweet, "Please," that he can't refuse.

He gets the message. Pressing his tongue back to her center with more pressure, he massages her clit a little faster, swirling his tongue around the spot he knows she wants him most, teasing her just a bit before latching on and giving her the firm sucks she desperately desires.

At her, _Yes, that's i-itttt, fuck,_ and a half dozen more well placed licks and sucks, she careens over the edge, panting his name and throwing one arm over her eyes.

He kisses a path back up her sternum to her neck, twirling his tongue on her pulse point, sucking at it tenderly.

Rolling off of her, he's surprised to see her sit up and pull out a condom from the night stand. Figured she'd want to wait a minute after one orgasm to go all in.

She grins at his expression, lifting her eyebrows pointedly and saying, "I've waited two months for this. I don't need time to rest."

He chuckles, leaning up to kiss her, which she moans into, saying she tastes good on his tongue, and he takes the condom from her hand.

Robin groans against her mouth, telling her she certainly does taste delicious. He opens the condom and rolls in on as she settles deeper into the center of the mattress.

He runs his hand down her hip, tracing feather-light lines along her sides. It causes her muscles to spasm just a touch, and Robin grins, trailing his eyes slowly back up to hers. "Ticklish?"

She blows out an airy chuckle as she nods, admitting, "Just a little." They smile sweetly at one another as Regina brings her hand up, running it through his dirty blonde locks and down to his neck, pulling him in for another full-blown kiss.

Pulling back, he smiles once more at her, still so amazed that he's here and this is actually happening. He's wanted her since the moment he walked into her classroom, and not just in this way. He's wanted to know her, all of her, in every way she'd allow, and god, he's thanking his lucky stars that he's here tonight. Taking a deep breath, he pecks a smooch to her lips briefly and trails his hands back down her side, fingertips slowly memorizing each dip and curve of her body before he tentatively dips one of his fingers inside her folds, making sure she's wet enough still. Assumes she is, she just had an orgasm not even five minutes ago, but he's a gentleman, so, he'll check.

She smiles up at him, running her hand along his jaw and says, "Don't worry. I'm ready." She reaches out then, taking hold of his thick member and stroking firmly up and down his length. "Are you?" she asks saucily, giving him a few more well pressured strokes. Fuck, is he ever ready. He's hard as a rock now, has been since they started this, so he's more than ready, and tells her so.

Positioning himself above her, he kisses her deeply one more time, tongues molding against one anothers as they both moan softly into the embrace. He's looking into her eyes, asking if this is still okay. Regina smiles lazily and assures him it is, and at her assurance, he pushes his cock inside slowly, sinking deeper into her depth. It's a glorious fit, like two halves of a whole finding each other. Like their bodies were made for the other's.

They both take a moment, staring into one another's eyes and breathing deeply into the scant space between their bodies. They're pressed together, barely any room, but he looks down into her lovely, soulful brown eyes, wanting to memorize her just like this. She's so beautiful and looks so peaceful right now moving slowly beneath him.

Robin bites down on his lip, letting it go as he sinks into her, in and out, over and over again as her heat surrounds him. He starts slow, wanting to savor this moment, but she feels amazing, and he's not sure how much longer he will last with the way she's sighing and rocking against him. After a handful of slow, well placed hip thrusts, he speeds up a touch, panting, "Yes, Regina," and jutting his hips into her over and over, deeper this time. He looks down, watching himself enter her core before coming back out again, covered in her slickness, and the sight alone makes him want to come. Looking back up to her face, he's breathless. She's beautiful, and he can't believe he actually gets to be with her, in every way possible.

Regina lets out an elated moan to match the one escaping from his throat when he slides in again, down to the hilt, fully inside her now. He glides his hand down in between their bodies, massaging her clit as he continues to pump into her.

She takes charge then, rolling their bodies so she's on top, and fuck, yes, this is just as good, maybe even better. Regina rolls her hips, sinking lower onto his cock. The angle must be just right because as he rocks up into her, she lets out a loud moan, encouraging him to, _Do that again_, and he does, again and again, bringing her to the edge of her climax. She leans down, hips still grinding and rocking against him, pressing her lips to his fully. He kisses her back, bringing one hand up from her hip to cup her cheek.

It feels like their bodies are on fire, in the best way imaginable, as their sweat slicked stomachs slide against one another. She grips the back of his head, bringing him up closer and pressing their lips together in a sloppy kiss. "Mm, yes, Robin," she pants when they break apart, pulling him up for another after letting a moan of pleasure out. He groans into the kiss, tongue filling her mouth and taking all he is awarded from this astounding woman. They work so well together, like they instinctively know what the other needs and wants. It's amazing, mind blowing, and he doesn't want it to end.

She mumbles something about her foot cramping up, and they breathlessly chortle, repositioning their bodies so he's back on top. Regina doesn't seem to mind the change, wiggling herself back to where she was when they started, moaning when he finds that sweet spot again, the one that has her just on the edge of falling over into oblivion as she rocks up into his hard thrusts. He reaches down between them, thumb grazing roughly against her clit, a touch she responds to, crying out in pleasure and encouraging him to repeat the motion.

Everything stills for a moment, slows down a bit from the frenzied passion they've been experiencing. In that moment, it's as if everything is in slow motion, like they're in a tunnel and the only sounds they can hear in their ears are each other's labored breathing and heartbeats.

She pulls back, looking deep into his blue eyes as he continues his pace inside of her. Her eyes hold so much emotion, and he just knows he could look at her every waking moment of the day.

Regina reaches up then, grabbing onto her nipples and tugging slightly. Her head falls back in pleasure, twisting to the side as it rests on her pillow. It's in that moment that he can tell she's almost on edge again, will careen over any moment now.

Remembering her words from earlier, _more - harder_, he asks "Do you want it harder, babe?" and she moans loudly, nodding her head quickly and assuring him with a, "Yes, god, yes," so he slides his cock up, almost all the way out, and grinds back into her harder than before.

"Fuck, Robin!" she shouts, her head coming up from the pillow and her free hand running down his back, grabbing his ass to pull him impossibly closer to her body. Her nails dig into his skin, but he doesn't mind, absently wondering if he'll have little crescent moon shapes etched into his skin come morning.

"That's it, love, let go for me," he pants, leaning down to kiss her deeply, tongues melding together in a sweet embrace.

It's after a dozen more deep thrusts that she's coming again, shouting his name. One, two, three more thrusts and a push of hips along with the maddening scratch of her nails along his back, and he's falling over the edge too with a groan of _Regin-aaa!_ as his seed fills the condom.

They lay there for a few minutes, wrapped in each other's arms, slowing their breathing before he slips out and throws his condom away.

Getting back into bed, he kisses her temple and wraps his arms around her waist.

"That was… amazing," he whispers into the quiet of the room. The only sound that can be heard is her fan blowing, and thank God she's left it on the medium setting so their bodies could cool off faster.

"Yeah," Regina breathes with a huge grin, turning her body to face his. "I don't normally sleep with people on the first date. Never have actually," she looks down then, smile disappearing, and fuck, he hopes she doesn't regret this. She looks back up at him, though, adding, "But it feels different with you." She shrugs, a shy smile blossoming onto her lips as she admits, "I'm glad we did this."

She leans up and presses a sweet kiss to his lips as he smiles, agreeing, "Oh, me too, Regina. Definitely, me too."

Giggling, they both cuddle into the warmth of each other's bodies. The room is cool, and now that their sweat is beginning to dry, he's actually a tad chilly.

He gets up after a few minutes, throwing on his boxers and telling her he'll, _Be right back._

When he comes back into the room, she's laying there naked, sheet barely covering her breasts, her nipples hardened underneath the fabric, and she's never looked more stunning. Her hair is a little messed up, what he imagines it looks like in the mornings after sleeping soundly all night, and she's got a sleepy grin on her face.

She looks over at him when she hears his footsteps and laughs, sitting up and saying, "I'd forgotten about that."

He's brought their oreo cheesecake in for them to enjoy. Settling down on the bed while Regina sits up, pulling the sheet up with her, he hands her a fork.

Robin situates himself closer to her body and they both smile dopily at one another. Clinking their plastic forks together, they dig in. Moaning at the taste of the dessert, Regina says, "We may have to go back every week _just_ for this."

He chuckles at that, leaning over to kiss an oreo crumb off the corner of her lip and agrees, saying, "This is almost better than sex."

At her raised eyebrows and pointed look, he lifts his hand in surrender, adding on an, "Almost," which causes her to snicker.

They finish the cheesecake in record time and snuggle back together once Robin sets the plate and forks on her night stand, him spooning her from behind. Her fingernails scratch softly at the tops of his hands, and they breathe together, discussing their plans for the upcoming week, trying to see if there's a night they can spend more time together.

She turns in his arms, grinning up at him and placing a kiss to his lips. He chuckles at the incredulity of being here with her and kisses her back, pressing multiple, soft pecks to those full lips he can't seem to get enough of. After lying there for several minutes, they go quiet, enjoying the stillness of the moment while Robin rubs lines up and down her spine, her eyes drooping shut at the sensation. He's not even certain she's awake anymore as he softly murmurs, "Regina?"

"Hmm?" she mumbles, opening her eyes slightly to peer up at him.

"I hate to do this," he winces, browns cinching together, "but I didn't arrange for Jasmine to keep Roland all night," he explains, pulling back a bit to see her face more fully. She's so beautiful, half asleep and comfy like this. He almost hates to end this moment, but, "I need to go relieve her of her babysitting duties."

"Oh," she remarks in recognition, sitting up and pulling the sheet with her once again. She nods, agreeing with an, "Of course." Regina smiles and tells him she understands. "The kid can't sleep at home alone, I suppose," she chuckles.

He laughs, saying, "No, not yet. Maybe in a few months."

Smirking, she stands and walks to her dresser, quickly throwing on a black, cotton robe that tantalizingly sits mid-thigh, and saying she'll walk him to the door. Along the way, Robin finds all his clothes scattered throughout her apartment, laughing at their obvious haste to get naked.

By time they get to the door, he's fully clothed again and kissing her goodnight.

They stand there at the door, bodies pressed together, his arms wrapped around her waist. They trade lazy kisses, neither one willing to let this night end just yet. "I really wish I could stay," he murmurs between them, leaning down to press another gentle kiss to her lips.

She hums, returning the smooch, saying, "Next time, definitely."

"Definitely," he agrees with a lazy smirk, kissing the top of her head for good measure.

With that, he makes his way out of her apartment, glancing back one last time to wave goodbye as she watches him walk away. Once back home, he thanks Jasmine, wishes her a good night and locks the door behind the girl. Robin pads quietly into Roland's room, kissing the already asleep child, who is spread across his bed like a pint-sized starfish, goodnight before climbing into his own bed where he sleeps like a baby, convinced the smile Regina has put there will never leave his face ever again.

{****************************}

_Thoughts? :)_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

A week later and things couldn't be better. Robin has been able to spend as much time as possible with Regina - they've talked every night, which included a very sexy call over Skype two nights ago (he liked that call best of all), and he was able to stop by her classroom this morning to drop off Roland and start his Thursday off with a dose of _her_. The best way to begin any day, honestly. Seeing her makes his heart flutter like a butterfly flapping its wings for the first time, and he hopes that feeling never goes away.

Regina had been nervous since they started seeing each other, didn't want Roland to know about them just yet, so he'd agreed to act normal in front of his son. When he dropped him off at school earlier, he said _Miss Mills_ and pretended nothing had changed despite how desperately he wanted to lean in and place a soft kiss to her cheek. When he got back to his car, however, he sent her a text letting her know how bloody gorgeous she looked in that black dress and maroon jacket. He'd definitely be daydreaming of those knee high black boots all afternoon as well.

When the next Saturday rolls around, Robin is excited to take Regina out. They've had a few dates together since their first one, usually having it at his house so he could put Roland to bed, but he loves being able to take her out on a proper date - letting her dress up and feel pampered for an evening. Jasmine assures him that she can sleep over all night so he can stay out with Regina, and he can't wait to spend a whole evening with her uninterrupted.

While at dinner, Regina shyly admits to Robin that, "It's just too hard keeping it from Roland."

He chuckles, agreeing that is has been very difficult. He takes a sip of his wine before reaching across the table, taking her hand in his and weaving their fingers together. She gives him a light squeeze, smiling over at him, and his heart warms at the look she is giving him. God, she's beautiful - inside and out.

"I just don't want it to change how he sees me at school."

It's a natural fear, as chatty as his boy is, to be worried that he'll let it slip that Papa and Miss Mills have slumber parties together, so he understands the hesitation.

"I get it, love," he promises, taking the last bite of his food. "I really do."

They change the subject, discussing how work went for each of them this week and Regina tells him about the funny stories some students wrote during writing time. He snickers at the tale, then pays their bill and stands. Stretching out his hand, Regina accepts it, grinning up at him as she stands to link arms with him and exit the restaurant.

Once in the parking lot, Robin presses Regina up against the side of his car, placing sweet kisses to her lips and neck. She moans quietly, just loud enough for him to hear, as she brings her hand up to run through his hair, tugging him a touch closer so she can deepen their kiss.

Breathless, they pull apart, Robin clearing his throat as he gestures behind her body at the door handle. Regina giggles, a sound that goes straight down to his cock, and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, shimmying out of the way to let him open the door for her.

Smiling gratefully, she gives his forearm a light pat before climbing into her seat. Robin walks to the other side, sliding into the driver's seat and starting up the car. "Is there anywhere else you want to go, darling?"

Regina purses her lips, thinking, and god, she's cute even when she doesn't mean to be. He just can't get enough of her.

"I think…" she breathes, hesitating. "I think we should tell Roland about us."

Surprised because of the abrupt shift in topic and the conversation they'd just had at dinner, Robin raises his eyebrows, asking, "You sure? You just said—"

"I know, I know," she laughs, shaking her head. She twists in her seat a little, reaching out to turn the air vent to blow more directly on her. "But there's no time like the present, right?"

He bites his lip, trying to quell the laughter bubbling up inside of him. He's so glad she's changed her mind. Sure, Roland can be chatty, but he truly believes his son can handle keeping this a secret for a little while. "Right," he agrees, leaning over to give her one more smooch before putting the car in reverse and heading home.

Before reaching their destination, he swings by Regina's apartment, per her request, so she can pack an overnight bag.

When they walk into his house, Jasmine stands, stretching out her hand to shake Regina's.

"It's so nice to meet you," the girl tells her with a broad smile. She says she knows it's only been a week, but ever since Regina came into his life, Robin has never seemed happier, which causes Regina to smile over at him with a glint in her eye.

To be fair, it's not as if he just met her a week ago. He's known her for almost three months, so it's easy to be so smitten with the raven haired beauty. She's magnificent, stunning in everything she does; it would be impossible _not_ to be infatuated by her.

He pays Jasmine, covering the overnight hours he'd promised her even though she's no longer spending the night, and she leaves after bidding them both a good night.

Regina sits on the couch, curling her feet up under her. "I'm going to go get Roland," he informs her, walking toward the playroom.

"Roland, my boy," Robin calls down the hall. "I'm home. And I have a surprise for you."

"A surprise!?" he shrieks, running out to meet his father. His little feet pitter patter across the hardwood floor as he runs and jumps into Robin's arms, giggling wildly as he asks what his surprise is.

Laughing, Robin kisses his son's cheek before setting him down. Running a hand through his damp curls (he'd just bathed not long before Robin had gotten home), he informs Roland that he has to wait and see.

Taking his hand, they walk back into the living room, and Roland's face lights up. "Miss Mills!"

She has moved from the couch, standing by the coffee table to kneel down and greet him with open arms and a, "Hi, honey!" as she places a kiss to his forehead before wrapping her arms around his little torso.

He loves the little touches she gives his son, knows she's a natural with kids, and she loves all her students, but he can't help but think Roland holds a special place in her heart.

"What are you doing here?" the little boy asks confusedly, yet excitedly, clearly wondering why his teacher is over on a Saturday night. He takes her hand in his small one, leading her back to the couch.

She sits down, smiling at her student as he plops down beside her, leaning into her side to give her another cuddly hug as they giggle softly together.

Robin comes to join them on the couch, where Roland is currently finding purchase in Regina's lap, twirling his finger around a strand of her hair. She's running her fingers through his and looking over at Robin, letting him take the lead on this one.

"Well, Roland," he starts, clearing his throat. He pats Roland's knee before saying, "You know Regina and I have become friends, yeah?"

The boy nods, adding a, _Really good friends!_

Oh, if his son only knew just how good of friends, he chuckles to himself.

Regina must know what he's thinking because her eyes narrow and she's smirking over the top of Roland's head in his direction.

"Yes, very good friends," she reiterates to Roland, giving a pointed look at Robin.

"We actually are a bit more than that, son," he claims, watching Roland for any sort of understanding. "Regina and I are… dating. Do you know what that means?"

"Ewwww," Roland gushes with a scrunched up face. If he didn't know any better, he'd think Roland's eyebrows and nose were almost touching. "Like boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Regina snickers, shaking her head as Robin states, "Yes, boyfriend and girlfriend."

His son giggles then, covering his mouth, and with wide eyes looks back at Regina. "But you tell us we're not allowed to have boyfriends and girlfriends."

She chortles then, her head tilted back, and it's a beautiful sight. He loves seeing her so happy and carefree. Regina tells him _six _year olds can't have boyfriends or girlfriends, but adults can as she gives his tummy a little squeeze.

Roland lets out an understanding, _Oh,_ before hopping off Regina's lap and turning to look at both of them. He puts his hands on his hips, very seriously, and after a moment of appraising the adults, shrugs and says, "Okay!" before starting to run off.

Grabbing his arm gently with a, _Woah, woah, woah_, Robin explains to him that there are some rules he has to follow while he and Regina are dating. At least for the time being.

Roland nods, walking closer to the adults to listen. Robin looks over to Regina, silently asking if she's okay. She must get his message because she softly smiles and gives him a reassuring nod of the head.

Confident they're doing the right thing, Robin tells him that while they're at school, he still has to call Regina "Miss Mills."

"But I can call you Regina at home!?" Obviously thrilled by the thought of this, Roland bounces on the heels of his feet as Regina assures him that yes, he can call her Regina outside of school.

"Cool!" he exclaims, looking between both adults with wide eyes. "What else?"

They tell Roland that it's their little secret for right now, so no one else gets to know. They were worried about that one, Robin is always telling his son it's important to tell the truth, and Regina just finished a social skills lesson on honesty to her class. But this is a big deal, and Regina is still a little nervous.

"It's like… a secret mission," Regina divulges to Roland conspiratorially, who now seems extra enthusiastic to have a top secret mission between him, his father, and his Regina.

He smiles as Roland leans closer to Regina, stage whispering, "We'll be like super top secret spies."

"That's right," she whispers back, smiling and tapping his son on the nose.

Regina and Roland sit there, his son back in her lap, discussing all the imaginative ways Roland thinks they can keep their secret from being found out by the aliens, whoever they may be, and suddenly, observing the look in both their eyes as they play with each other, Robin realizes he may have lost his girlfriend to his son forever.

His son is just as enamored with Regina as he is, it would seem.

After a few moments of them cuddled on the couch, his son explaining every aspect of the cartoon movie playing on the television to Regina, Robin glances at his watch and notices it's almost ten o'clock. Way past bedtime. He tells his son so, and Roland insists emphatically that he's not sleepy as he rubs at his eye with the back of his hand, his glasses skewing from the action.

"I think you are," Regina giggles, reaching up to right his eyewear and presses a kiss to the top of his head as she slides him off her lap carefully.

He stands with a pout and a yawn, causing Robin to chuckle. "Let's go," he tells him softly, kissing the top of Roland's head as he stands from the couch. "Tell Regina goodnight."

Roland bids Regina goodnight, hugging her and informing her they need to all dress like spies for Halloween. She laughs at that, saying, "That sounds like a great idea."

Robin scoops Roland into his arms and heads upstairs, tucking him in before coming to find Regina snuggled up on his couch mindlessly flipping through the channels now that she's turned off the cartoon.

He sits down, grabbing her legs and swinging them over his lap. She sighs then, letting out a content moan as he begins to massage her feet.

"I think that went well," she states, opening her chocolatey eyes to look at him.

He hums in agreement. "Yeah, he seems excited to share a secret with us."

They share a laugh before Regina admits that she's nervous for Monday, hoping he'll be able to handle _Miss Mills _at work, but _Regina_ at home.

He gently lets her feet down, encouraging her to sit up. Pressing a kiss to her forehead when she cuddles into his side, he declares, "I really don't think it'll be an issue."

She sighs, saying he's probably right and that they'd find out come Monday if his six year old could really keep a secret of this magnitude.

He laughs, rubbing soothing circles on her back. She leans up then, pressing her lips to his and letting out a surprised little moan when he deepens it.

"Come on, love," he says, standing and pulling her gently with him. "Ready to go upstairs?"

She wraps her arms around his neck, urging him closer to her. Regina smiles, breathing out a light laugh at his look of surprise before bussing her lips against his. She tilts her head, encouraging him to deepen their kiss. He does, of course, one had finding purchase on her hip as the other roams down, cupping her rear.

Regina groans at the sensation, pushing herself closer to him, grinding just enough against his front to have his cock stirring. "I thought you'd never ask," she jests, pulling back from their embrace. Her lips are swollen, and fuck, he likes the sight of that, knowing he can make her this needy just from a few well placed kisses.

Taking a step back, he reaches out, taking her hand and places a kiss to the back of it. She smiles sweetly up at him, and he can't help himself, he leans in once more, his lips brushing gently against her neck before she tugs on his hand, leading him upstairs to his bedroom for the night.

{*************************}

A week later and Regina is having to make good on her promise to dress like a spy for Halloween. It's mid-October now, and he could have already gotten his son a costume but, well honestly, he's been distracted lately.

"You have to wear a costume, Regina!" Roland expresses indignantly, stomping his foot in the middle of the aisle. They're surrounded by walls of costumes, and Regina is refusing to pick any of them.

"Halloween is for children, Roland," she explains, glancing back at all the witches, cartoon characters, and random taco and hotdog get ups surrounding them. "I don't need to wear a costume."

She tells him they can find him a super awesome PJ Mask costume, which seems to placate him. "Okay!"

Laughing, she reaches over and takes Robin's hand, leading him down the aisle Roland has just skipped to.

"I was really hoping he could convince you to wear a costume," he whispers in her ear, wiggling his eyebrows in her direction.

She smirks, rolling her eyes and says, "I'll save my costume for later," with a wink before sauntering ahead of him a few steps.

Shit.

"Oh, really?" Visions of her dressed as anything from Catwoman, all in leather, to Wonder Woman with that short skirt of hers flit through his mind. Reeling himself in before he pops a boner in the middle of the Halloween store, he mutters a _minx_ under his breath and walks to catch up with Roland.

Her chuckle floats in the air, causing him to smile.

She gets to the next aisle and wraps her arms around his waist, whispering, "I'm sorry," into his ear and promising him she'll behave as she places a light peck to his ear.

He smirks then, pulling back to drape an arm around her shoulder as Roland stands from where he's been crouched down contemplating which costume to get.

There's his favorite, Gekko, but he says he also kind of wants to go as Night Ninja, but, "Only because he's a ninja."

He finally settles on going as the former since he's green and that is his favorite color. _Just like Regina's! _

Robin smiles then, chuckling over the fact that Roland seems to have forgotten that green was once _their_ shared favorite color before Regina came into the picture. He can't blame the boy though, she is pretty spectacular.

"You sure this is the one you want?"

Roland lets out a miniature exasperated sigh, dramatically tilting his chin to his chest. His eyes raise to meet Robin's as he affirms, "Yes, Papa! Gekko is the best!"

He grins, looking over the Regina who seems to be biting her lip as if trying to hide her laughter. Robin pokes her side playfully, asking her what's so funny.

She sighs and smiles sweetly, shaking her head, saying, "Nothing. You two are just cute."

They both smirk, him rolling his eyes in jest, before taking her hand.

Walking to the counter, Roland places his costume on it and Robin pays.

As they make their way out of the store, his and Regina's arms wrapped around each other's waists and Regina holding Roland's hand, he can't help but think this is going to be the best Halloween yet.

{**************************}

The next day, Regina is able to get Robin away for a late lunch date. The church crowd has died down a bit, so they should be able to get seated quickly. Jasmine hadn't needed to study and agreed to watch Roland for them for a little while.

Walking into the local diner, Granny's, they quickly find a booth near the back.

While waiting for their food, they laugh over how excited Roland had still been this morning about Halloween.

"He kept asking me to put his costume on at breakfast," Regina explains to Robin, taking a sip of her water.

She smiles to herself, thinking about how sweet Roland had been this morning while they let Robin sleep in a bit.

"_Regina," Roland giggles. "That still sounds funny to say!"_

_She laughs, running her hand through his hair when he comes to stand beside her at the kitchen counter. She's cooking them all waffles, Roland's favorite, and has already assured him she will let him sprinkle a few chocolate chips in his. "Well that's my name!"_

_The boy cackles out an, "I know!" before standing on the step stool next to her to watch her mix the batter. "I like being able to say it."_

_She tells him she's glad and then asks tentatively, "Are you okay with me and your papa being boyfriend and girlfriend?" She's not sure if the opinion of a six year old should matter, but he is Robin's son, and she wants to make sure he is as on board with this as much as possible._

_Roland covers his mouth then, stifling another giggle at the mention of boyfriend and girlfriend, causing Regina to playfully roll her eyes. "Yeah," he says finally, pushing up his glasses as he looks at her mixing bowl. "I really like you. And papa does too."_

_Smiling, she looks over at him and places a kiss to the top of his head. "Good. I really like you both too."_

_Roland smiles triumphantly up at her, wrapping his little arms around her shoulders and resting his head in the crook of her neck from where he stands on the stool. "Will you always be around?"_

"_What do you mean, honey?" She turns back to the batter, making sure it doesn't run too much over the waffle iron, but keeps a watchful eye on Roland._

"_My mama is always gone. I just want to make sure you'll be here." Roland rings his hands together before stuffing them in his pockets, so reminiscent of his father when he's nervous. "I like having you around."_

_She turns the heat down low on the iron and turns to face Roland completely, breathing out an, "Oh, honey." She suddenly has the urge to find Marian and punch her for making this boy so insecure about someone staying in his life. Sure, Marian's job is the reason she's always traveling, but from what she's gleaned from Robin, even when she is home in Storybrooke, she isn't around all that much. Not enough to have a positive impact on her own son. "I'll be here as long as you and your papa let me be."_

_Roland looks up at her, his big, brown eyes shining as he timidly asks, "Promise?"_

_Kissing the top of his head, she breathes in the scent of his shampoo and whispers, "I promise."_

_With a, "Good!" Roland hops down from the counter and goes to get the chocolate chips from the pantry. _

_As he gets down, he spies his Gekko costume laying on the back of the couch. She'd told Robin to put it up last night, but they'd gotten a bit distracted with roaming hands and sensual kisses once Roland was asleep. _

_Roland gasps, pointing to his costume. "Can I wear it now, Regina, pleeeeease?"_

_With a laugh, Regina reminds Roland that his father is still sleeping and he needs to keep his voice down. "And no," she giggles, shaking her head, "you have to wait until Halloween to wear it."_

_Pouting, he lets out a defeated, "Okay," before grinning at her and running back to the pantry to finally collect the chocolate chips._

_He'd tried to convince her a few more times while cooking that he should wear his costume, which were all effectively shot down. Once Robin came walking into the kitchen, messy bed head and wrinkled t-shirt to boot (which she can't help but to find ridiculously attractive), Roland asked him as well. _

_Finally, halfway through breakfast the adults were able to distract him enough with thoughts of going to the park later today to get his mind off of wearing the costume._

"Good thing Halloween is only a week away," Robin remarks playfully, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yeah," she chuckles, swallowing a sip of water, "I think he's going to ask every day to wear it. You need to hide it from him."

Robin laughs, that low rumble always making her stomach flip flop, and says he will put it in the closet upstairs later today.

They order their food, a turkey and cheese sandwich on wheat for Regina and a BLT for Robin, and enjoy their time together. She loves these moments when they can just be the two of them. She loves being around Roland, of course, he's a delight and always so much fun, but her and Robin's time, one on one, is special as well. Robin's hand finds hers on top of the table and they finish their meal with fingers linked together, easy conversation like always, and plenty of laughs.

Once they're finished, Regina reminds Robin that they promised Roland a trip to the park when they got home so the couple pay for their food and make their way back to Robin's house.

When they pull into his driveway, Robin lets out a low _Shit _mumbled under his breath. Regina had been looking down at her phone, so she looks up and spots a red sports car in the driveway.

"Who's that?" she asks curiously, locking her phone and looking over at Robin.

"Marian."

Regina's eyebrows raise. She thought Marian was supposed to be out of town until next month, going from Vermont to New York to train her different employees. She's never met Robin's ex, and suddenly her stomach feels as if it's dropped into her shoes.

Stepping out of the car, they meet at the front of the car and Robin takes her hand. They walk to the front door where Marian stands underneath the awning above his porch.

Marian is standing there in a navy dress with quarter length sleeves, long brown hair, tanned complexion, and gorgeous brown eyes. Regina suddenly feels underdressed in her jeans and red tunic sweater. Pulling the hem of her shirt down, Regina runs a hand through her hair as they approach the house.

"Marian. What are you doing here?" Robin inquires, leaning in to peck the other woman's cheek.

Marian eyes Regina up and down quickly, too quick for Robin to notice she's sure, but she definitely did. "I had a layover in town and figured I'd come by to see Roland before I leave. But I see that you're… _busy._"

Quirking her eyebrows up, Regina returns the steely gaze being sent her way and trails her eyes up and down Marian's form just as she'd done to her. They're divorced, why the hell is Marian being such a bitch to her without even knowing her?

Robin _Ahh_s and places his hand on Regina's back, turning to stand in between the two women. "Marian, this is my girlfriend, Regina," he informs with a smile on his face, oblivious to the pissing contest happening right in front of him. "Regina, Marian."

Deciding to be the bigger person, Regina sticks out her hand. "It's nice to meet you."

Marian, the bitch that Regina has already decided she is, looks down at her outstretched hand disdainfully, as if the mere thought of shaking her hand disgusts her. Finally, she places her hand in Regina's and gives it a quick shake. "Same to you."

They stand there a beat, both women staring at one another, before Robin clears his throat. "Right, uh, Roland is next door with Jasmine. I'll go get him."

Grabbing Robin's arm, Regina assures him _she'll_ go get him. She's not about to stand there in awkward silence while Robin collects his son.

After retrieving Roland from Jasmine's house, they jog back across the yard. Roland's face lights up at the sight of his mother, and it warms Regina's heart a little bit. The woman must have some good qualities if Robin married her and Roland seems to love her, despite his words this morning.

"Hi, my darling!" Marian greets cheerfully, picking Roland up into her arms. Robin lets everyone inside his house and the four of them go inside.

Regina tries to make herself scarce, staying in the kitchen most of the time and washing dishes while Marian plays with Roland. She got the hint when she went to go sit in the living room and Marian almost lit her on fire with just a look in her eyes.

Robin, ever the gentleman that he is, wanders into the kitchen a few minutes later and wraps his arms around her waist. Nuzzling his nose into her hair and kissing the side of her neck, he whispers, "I'm sorry."

She snorts, assuring him with a shake of her head that it's fine. "You did nothing wrong."

She tells him she isn't sure why Marian dislikes her so much, but, "She better get used to me being around Roland," Regina chuckles humorlessly, scrubbing forcefully at a pan, "I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon."

Robin's face lights up at that, spinning Regina around in his arms, making her drop the scrub brush she'd been using. "Good. I don't want you to go anywhere."

Regina hesitantly smiles, just the corners of her mouth twitching up, and wraps her arms around his neck while trying to avoid letting her wet hands touch him.

"Why does she hate me so much already, anyway?"

Robin sighs, telling her that Marian is just jealous, always has been of any relationship of Robin's. "Not that there have been many the last four years," he assures, causing her to smirk at how cute he is trying to reassure her, not that it was needed, she doesn't care how many girls he dates after his divorce, she just cares that he's here now with her. He goes on, saying anytime he brought a girl around, Marian didn't like it. One of those _You always want what you can't have_ situations, he supposes. She didn't want him when they were married, but now that he sought out the divorce years ago, she doesn't want him to be with anyone else, even though she's had plenty of boyfriends over the years.

She smiles, rolls her eyes at that and leans up to press a gentle kiss to his lips, attempting to convey just how strongly she feels for him. They've only been dating now for a month, and it may seem fast, but she can't help but think she is falling for this man, and quick. There's just something about the way they instantly connected that has her mind convinced this is something special, something real and true, and it scares the hell out of her, but she's finally willing to let herself give in to this emotion she's feeling.

"Come on," Robin says, patting her rear playfully, "I think she's about to leave."

Regina dries her hands, taking a deep breath as she follows her boyfriend into the living room to say goodbye.

Roland hugs his mother, saying he's going to miss her, but cutely asking for a present from New York. Marian laughs, promising she will bring him something as she wraps her arms around him, pressing kisses into his hair. She bids goodbye to Robin, barely glancing Regina's way as she makes her exit. Once she's gone, Regina and her boys are finally able to bundle up and make their way to the park for the rest of the afternoon.

That night, as they lay there, Robin running his hands down her spine and into her hair, he asks, "So when do I get to see this costume of yours?"

Grinning, she turns her head to look at him out of the corner of her eye. Her head is buried into the pillow next to him when she says, "As I told Roland, no costumes allowed until Halloween."

He laughs then, muttering an, _Oh alright,_ as he pulls at her t-shirt, encouraging her to take it off. She helps him, lifting her torso up a bit so he can slide it off the rest of the way. Goosebumps rise up on her skin as she turns over, smiling up at him as his mouth captures one of her nipples in between his teeth and begins to suck.

Letting out a moan, she runs her hands through his sandy blonde hair and lets him do delicious things to her body all night long.

{****************************}

Robin's house is a flutter of chaos on Halloween. Roland has never been so excited for the night, but he keeps reminding his father that, _This year Regina comes with us!_

Upon hearing a knock on the door, Robin goes to answer it, calling down the hallway for Roland to slow down. He's been running around the living room for the past twenty minutes, ever since Robin let him slip into his costume a little early. Poor lad has been so excited, and he decided his son should get a reward for keeping their secret so well at school the past few weeks, still calling her Miss Mills and such.

The only ones at Regina's job that know about them are Neal and Mary Margaret; it's working, and it's 're at the point now where they're not hiding it, in particular, but they just aren't sharing the news around her work place openly. If someone asks, she's told him she'd be honest, but so far no one has. Regina claims the only person at work interested in her love life is Mary Margaret anyway.

Pulling the front door open, he's greeted by the sight of Regina standing there, bag in tow. She's wearing jeans and a black t-shirt adorned with an orange pumpkin wearing a mask, and he can't help but chuckle at the sight.

"Hello, gorgeous," he welcomes, leaning in to place a kiss to her lips.

"Hey, there," she greets, returning the kiss and then walking past him and into the kitchen.

She sets her bag down on the island and turns to face him. He eyes the bag, knows she's planning on spending the night, but he can't help himself when he lets out a cheeky, "Is your costume in there?" while wiggling his eyebrows seductively.

Rolling her eyes, she shakes her head exasperatedly. She chuckles. "You'll have to wait and see," she adds with a wink.

"REGINA!" Roland exclaims, zooming into the kitchen from the living room. It's an open concept, his kitchen looking out into the living space, so Roland has plenty of room to fly around in his get-up.

"Hi, baby!" she greets, catching him as he flops into her arms. They laugh together at Roland swishing his bottom as best as he can in her hold, showing off the tail of his costume. "Are you excited?"

"I sure am!" his son tells her, giving her neck a loving squeeze. "And look!" Roland shouts, slipping his mask down from the top of his head onto his face."My mask!"

The eye holes on the mask fit perfectly around his black glasses, and she grins at him, knowing that had been a big selling point when he'd tried it on in the store.

Regina beams at his untamed glee, leaning her head away from his gleeful shouts that are right by her ear. Robin reminds him not to shout in Regina's face, and his son covers his mouth, taking a deep breath to try and calm himself down. "Sorry," he giggles, motioning to the Gekko emblem printed to the front of his costume.

Robin walks over to the stove while Regina takes Roland into the living room, still talking away about the different parts of his get up, as if she hadn't been with him when they bought it. He's been cooking spaghetti for them to eat before his son goes and gets loaded up on sugar. He'll tell him only one piece tonight, but he has a feeling his sneaky little boy will somehow get a few more pieces in before bedtime.

He plates their food and calls them both over to the table.

Regina convinces Roland to take off his costume while they eat by telling him, "You don't want to get sauce all over it," to which the little boy wholeheartedly agrees, eyes growing serious as he nods in her direction, unzipping the front of it and stepping out.

"Now I'm ready!" he states, standing in his socks and underwear.

She and Robin laugh, Regina questioning them as to where his clothes are. Roland guffaws, head thrown back in amusement as he informs her he took them off earlier to wear the costume.

Shaking her head at the silliness, she sits down, motioning for Roland to join them at the table.

They dig in, the littlest of the trio chattering away the whole time about what costumes he expects to see around the neighborhood tonight and what candy he hopes he gets.

Roland can barely contain his excitement as Regina helps him step back into the costume after they finish eating, convincing him to add a long sleeve shirt under it for when it gets cooler tonight.

He grabs a pillow case for Roland to collect candy in and the three of them make their way out into the neighborhood.

Walking up to the first house, Regina says to Roland, "Remember what to say when you get up there."

"I know," he tells her, uttering, "Trick-or-treat!"

"That's right," she encourages with a smile. "But remember to also say thank you once they hand you your candy."

His son nods, slipping his hand into Regina's as they get closer to Jasmine's driveway. Once he's close enough, Roland is off, running up the walkway to her front porch where Jasmine and her two roommates sit with three large bowls of candy.

"Trick-or-treat, Jasmine!" Roland cries, causing the three college girls to giggle at him. Since they all know Roland, he's lucky enough to get a piece from all of them. His eyes light up in wonder and he thanks each girl profusely before turning around and shouting, _Come on!_ to him and Regina.

He and Regina nod their hellos to Jasmine, rolling his eyes about Roland's antics, and make their way to the next house.

Regina slips her hand into his as Roland walks a few paces ahead of them. "It feels good tonight."

He hums his agreement, saying, "I'm glad it's not too cold just yet. Putting that t-shirt under his costume though was a good idea on your part. It's bound to get colder in a little bit."

The fall weather hasn't been as cold as it usually is, but it's still fairly early, and being outside tends to require a heavier jacket later into the night. Luckily, while Regina ran upstairs earlier to grab one of Roland's shirts for him to put on, he'd grabbed a jacket for him out of the closet, knowing his son would want it later.

The two of them walk, his arm coming to wrap around her shoulders when a slight breeze blows through and talk about work. He tells her how his newest employee, Will, did great with the museum tour for the group of second graders that came in earlier in the week and how he's excited for more field trips to start coming it.

"Maybe my class can take a trip there," she replies, snuggling into the warmth of his arm. "That'd be fun."

He beams, saying he'd love that. "Getting to see my girlfriend in the middle of a work day? Can't get better than that."

She grins at him as they stop at the next house, leaning up to press a quick kiss to his lips.

Roland collects his candy and makes his way back over to them. They've reached five houses at this point and the excitement is only building.

"Come on, Regina!" Roland exclaims, holding out his hand for her to take.

She looks up at Robin sheepishly, claiming, "My other man needs me right now."

Laughing, he untangles his arm from around her, telling Roland cheekily that he's stolen his Regina from him.

"Sorry, Papa!" Roland shouts, looking up to Regina as they share a laugh. He can't be too put out by it, seeing the two of them interact brings a warmth to his heart that he never thought possible.

Regina takes his son's hand and they walk on to the next house. Robin stays back a few steps, just observing the two of them together. Regina loves Roland, that much is clear. She's a natural mother and loves spending time with him.

Roland, in turn, obviously loves Regina. The few times they are not together, Roland asks where she is and when he can see her. It's adorable, really. And he's glad he's found someone who is interested in Roland's life.

Marian isn't a bad mother, so to speak, but… absent. So he's glad Roland has someone now who can be more present in his life. It's one of the reasons he loves Regina so much.

Fuck. He really does love her.

He has been telling himself for the past week or so that he was being crazy. He couldn't possibly love her after only a little over a month, but, well, he does. He more than loves her. As he watches this goddess of a woman stroll the street with his son's hand wrapped in hers, he realizes he's _in_ love with her.

He's known from the minute he met her that there was something different about her. There's a connection there, one he's never felt with anyone else, not even Marian. He's never been one to believe in soulmates, but in thinking about Regina and his depth of love for her, he thinks he just might.

"Papa!" Roland's voice bellows, interrupting his thoughts. "Look at all the candy I have so far!"

"I see, my boy!" Robin chuckles, telling him he still has a few more houses to go. They've made it almost all the way around the entire neighborhood at this point, can see his house in the distance, and good, because the temperature is dropping and he knows Roland's nose will start running at any point now.

They make it to three more houses before Regina is able to make her way back to him, interlocking their fingers together as she lays her head on his shoulder. He feels a shiver run through her, so he takes his jacket off, handing it to her.

"Thank you," she says as he kisses the top of her head. She slides her arms in, sighing contentedly at the warmth it provides her. And he must say, he does love the sight of her in his clothes.

"Now you'll be cold, though," she pouts, apologizing for not wearing a thicker jacket.

He waves it off, saying he's not that cold (despite the chill running over his skin right now). "I'll feel better knowing you're not freezing."

She shakes her head, looking at him as if he's not real, and smiles, biting down on her plump bottom lip. She looks like she wants to say something, but just as she goes to speak, Roland skips back to them, proclaiming, "I'm cold!"

Robin hands him his jacket that he's been carrying and Roland slips it on, thanking his father and running ahead again to the next house.

"Good thing you brought that," she claims, looking over at him with a smile on her face.

"Hmm," he agrees, nodding, "Sometimes I have good ideas."

She snickers then, kissing his cheek and murmuring, "Sometimes."

"Oi!" he scoffs in amusement, pulling her into his embrace and pinching at her side playfully. She squeals, laughing and squirming out of his embrace. He chuckles as she lets him pull her back in for a hug before they walk to meet up with Roland.

After they hit the next six houses, the trio finally makes it back to Robin's. Walking inside, the warmth of the house floods them, and Regina lets out a relieved sigh. "I didn't realize just how cold I was out there."

"Me either," Robin says, shaking his shoulders as he goes to turn the heat a little warmer in the house. "Although, I'd be a bit warmer if a thief hadn't stolen my jacket."

"Hey!" she exclaims, mouth falling agape as she laughs in surprise. "You can't steal something that's been given to you!"

Roland has his arms up, pretending to fly around the living room and make spaceship noises when Robin quirks his eyebrows, grins and says, "True."

Regina takes Roland's jacket from around his shoulders when she finally catches him as he flies just a tad closer to them and hangs it in the closet. His son then runs back to the living room to dump out all his candy and makes a big pile, sorting the treats by what type they are.

He and Regina cuddle onto the couch and watch Roland jabbering on about which candy is the best, which ones Regina could have if she wants and which ones he's willing to give up to Robin. "Gee, thanks, lad," Robin says sarcastically, causing Roland to giggle.

He tells Roland he can have one piece tonight but then he needs to get in bed. It's almost ten o'clock at this point, and though tomorrow is Saturday, he knows how grumpy his son will be in the morning if he doesn't get enough sleep.

"I definitely want that Butterfinger," Regina whispers, eyeing the piece that sits in a small pile on the floor.

"I was eyeing that one, too," Robin tells her, winking in her direction. Roland had only gotten one Butterfinger surprisingly, so he knows it'll be one of the top contenders that each of them will want.

"You can have any other piece on that floor, but _don't_ get in my way of that Butterfinger."

He laughs then, placing a hand over his belly. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," he says, holding his hands up in the air in mock surrender.

She breathes out a quiet giggle as Roland brings the Butterfinger to her, saying he'll give her that one since he knows how much she loves them. She seems to melt a little at that, looking over to Robin with a sweet smile on her face. "Thank you, baby," she tells him, kissing the top of Roland's head before he scampers back to his pile of candy, still deciding what he's going to eat tonight.

After Roland has eaten his beloved Snickers bar, Robin kisses his son goodnight before Regina whisks him away upstairs to brush his teeth and tuck him in. Robin stays downstairs, cleaning up the saucepan he'd left out after dinner, thinking back to how wonderful tonight has been - how wonderful every moment spent with Regina is, really.

He makes his way upstairs fifteen minutes later and his breath is knocked from his chest.

Sitting against the headboard in the middle of his bed is Regina… dressed in the sexiest Evil Queen costume he's ever laid eyes on. It's a short, black leather one piece, attached to two black stockings with purple bows at the top of them. It has purple inserts around her breast, and a purple bra boosting said breasts up higher than he's ever seen before. All he wants to do is run his tongue along them before pulling it down with his teeth. There's a yellow crown perched on her head and a black cape draped around her shoulders with matching gloves running up to her elbows.

Fuck. This is better than any costume he imagined.

He licks his lips, breathing out a, _Christ, babe, _before walking over, taking his clothes off as fast as possible on the way, and settling himself in between her thighs. He's sitting on the haunches of his legs, running his palms along the black knee highs covering her legs. There's a bit of skin showing between the stocking and the black one piece, shaped almost like a bathing suit, and he leans down to trail his tongue on the skin that is exposed.

She sits up a bit higher then, directing him to suck on her pulse point. He leans up, hands straddling her waist and his lips grip on to her neck, sucking until a moan escapes her lips. She gently pushes him back then so he's sitting on his legs again, looking at her with nothing but hunger in his eyes. He goes to remove the crown, but she tuts, pushing his hand away. "I didn't give you permission to touch yet."

She slowly removes the gloves, flinging one to fly right past his head with a grin on her face. He watches it land on the floor, turning back to smile at her. Shaking his head, he asks if he's allowed to remove these stockings yet. "I want to feel those legs of yours, darling."

"Not yet," she says a mock stern voice. "Leave those on, but you may remove this cape."

Smirking, he leans up, untying the cape from around her neck and throwing it to the floor when she sits up to give it some wiggle room. His tongue finds her neck again, swirling on that spot he knows she likes so much. He's already discovered she loves this particular spot, always making her melt under his touch whenever he sucks there, so he likes to press his lips upon that patch of skin as much as he can. Her hands grip his biceps then as she pants out his name.

"Sit up, peasant," she commands in jest, pushing at his shoulders to sit him up some. "I'm the _Evil_ Queen. You must do as I say."

"Well from this angle, the evil moniker seems somewhat of an overstatement," he quips, trails his hands tantalizingly along her thighs, making her shiver. "Bold and audacious, perhaps, but…" he scrunches his nose, jutting his chin toward her body, "not evil."

She smirks then, biting down on her bottom lip. She can't seem to keep the charade up any longer and burst into a fit of giggles. "This is so silly."

He laughs, saying, "I don't know, love, I kind of like it." He tells her she looks very, _very_ sexy in this get up. "You may need to keep it around for us to use another time."

She chuckles, saying he can hide it in his closet somewhere and bust it out later. "Now, though," she asserts, lifting her chin in the most regal of ways, like a true monarch would, "this queen says you may remove any part of her outfit as you wish."

"As my queen commands," he answers, bowing in her direction before pulling the straps of her body piece down.

He trails his tongue down, letting it linger in all the places that make her go weak, and wet, as he pulls her suit off. He leaves the bra and stockings on just a bit longer as his mouth sucks kisses to her inner thighs. His mouth moves up, up, up to her center, placing teasing kisses all around where she really wants him, He lets her squirm for a few minutes, riling her up, before his tongue enters her, licking and sucking, drawing out the most delicious sounds from the back of her throat. Shit, just _hearing_ her makes him hard, he loves being able to draw those little whimpers of pleasure from her.

Their hands roam over each other as his fingers join his tongue, working her higher and closer to her climax. She grips at his hair, moaning his name and telling him exactly what she needs. Their touches get needier, gripping and pulling their bodies closer and closer. Finally, after his tongue has done its job, sending her over the edge with a cry of, _Ro-obinnn_, she flips them, gripping his erection and pumping him up and down a few times, working him up like he'd just done to her.

She shimmies lower on the bed, moving her body to rest in between his legs and takes him in her mouth. "Fuck, love," he breathes as her tongue swirls around his length and her head bobs. Her eyes flick up, catching his and the vision alone is enough to make him want to come right then and there.

She smirks up at him, giving his balls a squeeze before going back to work on his cock, moving her head up and down, the light scrape of her teeth along his length making it hard for him not to lose it too quickly. Before he can come in her mouth though, he pulls her up, crashing their lips together and telling her he wants to fuck the Evil Queen.

Regina chuckles then, straddling his hips. She grins down at him, giving him a half dozen well pressured strokes before guiding his cock to her entrance. She moans out when his body thrusts up, cock sinking into her wet heat all the way. Fuck, he loves when she's on top, taking what she needs from him. She's so damn sexy when she's in control like this. Bloody sexy no matter what she's doing, really.

"You feel so good," she tells him seductively, and he assures her she feels just as amazing. He thrusts up into her, trying to commit to memory just how amazing she feels wrapped around him. She rolls her hips, getting him to hit her g-spot, and she reaches down, letting her fingers slip down to feel herself, her fingertips getting slick from her own juices.

Regina circles her clit, crying out as the pleasure of both him and her bring her closer to the edge. His hands are on her hips, squeezing affectionately as she rocks against him, but she reaches up, taking one of his hands and telling him to, "Touch me."

His fingers quickly replace her own, rolling her sensitive bud between his finger tips. She moans again, drawing an equally loud one from him as he can feel himself getting ready to erupt inside of her. Regina reaches up, running her fingers through her hair and gripping at her scalp as she rides him faster.

It's with a handful more thrusts that she's coming, bringing him over the edge as well as they pant their favorite curse words over and over again. Coming down from their high, Regina curls into his side, sweat slicked bodies cooling down together as she traces mindless patterns against his chest. He places soft kisses to the top of her hair, murmuring how much he loved her costume, causing her to scoff in amusement and swats at his stomach.

She looks up, giving his a sleepy smile as she leans up to plant a kiss to his lips.

Halloween might just be his new favorite holiday after all.

{******************************}

_Please review and let me know what y'all thought! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

It's been two weeks since Halloween, they're almost in the middle of November now, and Regina couldn't feel more at peace with her decision to date Robin. More people at work have found out about her relationship with him, and she was pleasantly surprised to see that it wasn't a big deal to anyone. The only co-worker that had a problem with it effectively shut up when Neal assured her that it was fine by him.

Roland had struggled to adjust at first. Once he was comfortable with Regina being around outside of school, he grew too used to calling her Regina and had a few slip ups, which amused her to no end.

"_And what sound does A-R make?" she asks the class, looking around for quietly raised hands. _

_There's a few grunts and groans and small shouts of, "Oh, I know! I know!" that she valiantly ignores in her ongoing battle to teach her students not to shout out. _

_She looks around the room, spotting Roland's hand raised. "I love the way Roland is sitting criss cross _and _has his hand raised. Good job following the carpet expectations," she praises like she would do for any of her students, giving him an encouraging smile and a nod of the head. "Do you know the answer?"_

_The boy beams, his dimples shining on his cheeks. God, she loves those dimples… loves his father's set of them too. Her mind flashes to Robin and the way he'd laughed so hard at dinner the other night at something she'd said, bringing another smile to her face. Roland's curls bounce against his forehead in his state of excitement as he nods, exclaiming, "Yeah, Regina, uhh, I mean, Miss Mills."_

_His little brown eyes bug out, looking around to see if anyone caught his slip of the tongue. There's a few snickers, much like when students call her "Mom" without thinking about it, but no one seems too bothered by it. They all know her first name, she tells her class each year at the beginning of the year as part of their introductions to each other, but they all know they're not allowed to actually call her by that name, only by her teacher name. _

_Regina takes a deep breath, her eyes widening momentarily to match his, but she rights herself, smiling as he answers with a proud, "It says arrrrr like a pirate!" He holds up his left hand, hooking his pointer finger and twisting it into his body like a pirate would his hook, causing the kids who are looking at him to laugh, imitating a pirate with their hands as well._

_She giggles, instructing, "That's right. Everyone make the sound!" She holds up her fake hook along with him, twisting it around as the class joins in, everyone making an arrr sound to boot. _

"So, how are things going?" Mary Margaret probes, blowing on her coffee as she sits down in Regina's classroom.

There's a U-shaped table in front of her desk, and Mary always settles into the child sized chair closest to her desk when they meet together to work on lesson plans.

Regina smiles, looking up from her computer. "Things are great," she adds confidently, eyes hazing over as she imagines her latest date with Robin. He'd taken her out Wednesday night, just a quick dinner and some ice cream before taking her home so he could put Roland to bed on time, but it was lovely. They'd walked hand in hand underneath the moonlight, each enjoying their cones of rocky road and birthday cake.

He'd kissed her at her doorstep later that night, promising to text her as soon as he got home, sent Jasmine on her way, and got Roland settled in bed. She bites her lip at the memory, trying to contain the giddy smile blooming on her face.

"Well," Mary replies with a smirk, lifting her eyebrow. "I said the first day you met him that you looked smitten, but this," she motions toward Regina, waving her hand in the air, "is a whole new level."

Regina rolls her eyes, smiling wistfully as she pulls up the lesson plan template on her computer. She glances over at the large, touch screen television that serves as her SmartBoard, making sure it's on so Mary can see the plans as she types them in. "He's wonderful," she divulges, flicking her eyes to meet her friends. "I didn't think I could ever feel like this again after Daniel," she admits, twisting her lips in apprehension.

Mary sighs, setting her coffee down as she laces her fingers over her crossed leg. "I know," she concedes solemnly.

Regina shakes her head, pulling herself from thoughts of her ex. "Anyway," she smiles, "that was five years ago. I thought dating someone like this again would frighten me, I haven't had anything serious since Daniel, you know?" Mary nods, so she continues, "And I thought it would push me away, make me put all my walls up again, especially with how quickly my feelings for Robin have developed, but…" she trails off, inhaling sharply as she thinks of him, his beautiful blue eyes, his accent, how kind he is, everything that makes him _him_. "I'm not scared… and _that_ is scary."

Both women laugh, Mary affirming that it's not scary at all. "It's exciting! He seems great from the few times I've spoken to him," she confirms with a smile. "He makes you smile, who cares if you've only been together almost two months?"

Regina grins. Mary Margaret's optimism usually makes her scoff and roll her eyes, thinking her friend goes through life as if it's a fairy tale far too often, but now that she's happy… she can't find it in herself to disagree with her best friend. "You're right," she sighs, slumping back into her chair.

Mary's eyebrows lift as she tilts her head to the side. "I'm sorry… what?" She cups her ear, turning her head to the side.

Giggling, Regina sits up, tossing the closest pen on her desk across the way to the other woman.

"Maybe we should go on a double date!" Mary squeals, clapping her hands together. "David would love to meet Robin, I've told him so much about him already!"

Regina thinks about it, nodding her head. It would be nice to let Robin meet her friends. Sure, he knows Mary, sees her all the mornings he drops off Roland and the few afternoons he's been able to stop by after school (the rare days he's finished work before five o'clock), but he's never actually hung out with her before. And David is great, he gets along with everyone, so it could be fun. "I think that's a great idea," she agrees, picking up her phone to text Robin.

Mary giggles excitedly, saying they'll have to pick a night to all go out. "We'll just have to make sure Jasmine can watch Roland," Regina notes, looking back to her friend, "but other than that, yeah, it'll be fun."

Smiling broadly, Mary begins texting David, already planning where to go and what to do in order to make the best impression on Robin as possible. Regina rolls her eyes, saying they need to work on lesson plans. "We'll be here all night at this point already, and I would much rather go see my boyfriend and enjoy the weekend."

Mary chuckles, agreeing. She picks up her coffee, starting to give ideas of activities they can do next week in Math. They plan for the next hour, putting the final touches on the plans just after 4:30.

Groaning, Regina stands, stretching her back. "I hate that these plans take so long some weeks. We need to find a different day to do them so we're not here so long on Fridays."

She's got her workout class in a little less than an hour now, and she forgot to bring her gym bag to work so she needs to run home to change clothes and refill her water bottle. She's been a healthy eater and consistent gym rat ever since her father passed away from a heart attack when she was in high school. It was the hardest, most heart crushing experience of her life, but knowing that if he'd lived a healthier lifestyle, his early death could have been avoided, she's been extra conscious of her well being (she was already forced to watch every bite of food that went into her mouth growing up with her mother, but that's a whole different story).

Mary gives her a sympathetic smile, giving her a confident, "At least next year we won't have to re-do everything!"

And she's right, though Regina won't admit it - once was enough for today. If the Math curriculum doesn't change like it did this year, then planning lessons next school year won't take them as long. Regina sighs, hoping Mary is right. If things keep going in the pattern they are, she could be far too distracted next year with getting home to a handsome Brit than staying all night to do lesson plans.

"Alright," she says, picking up her purse, "I'll e-mail these to the team real quick, and then I need to get going."

Clicking send on the e-mail, she collects her belongings before she and Mary make their way out of the room, saying goodbye to the janitor, Leroy, they see in the hallway as they go into Mary's classroom. She grabs her purse, talking the whole time about David and how they have to go cake tasting this weekend to finalize which one they want at their wedding in a few months.

Walking out to their cars, Mary gives Regina a hug, telling her, "Text me once you talk to Robin about dinner."

Regina smiles, saying she will as she climbs into her car. Checking her phone before she pulls out, she reads a text from Robin telling her that he is going to grill hamburgers for dinner if she would like to come over.

_I have my HIIT class at 5:30 but I'll come by after class and a shower! Burgers sound delicious,_ she tells him, adding the little burger emoji along with a red heart.

He responds with an affirmative, _Can't wait_, before she leaves the parking lot. Locking her phone, Regina turns up the radio, singing along softly as she makes her way home.

{***************************}

She's sitting on Robin's couch a few hours later when he walks down the stairs from tucking Roland in and joins her. She snuggles into his side as they finish watching _A Walk to Remember_. It's one of Regina's favorite books and when it became a movie years ago, she's convinced she was one of the first to go out and buy it. It just happened to be on television tonight, and she'd practically squealed when she saw it was playing. No matter how sad it may be, she loves it.

Chuckling, Robin asks, "This is still on?" He wraps his arm around her, giving her plenty of space to rest her head of his chest.

Before she lays her head down, though, she smacks it, saying, "Yes. Now hush. This is a good part."

He grins down at her, placing a kiss to her temple just as Landon places a butterfly tattoo onto Jamie's shoulder and settles further into the couch. "Alright, love."

A few minutes later, Robin's phone rings. Picking it off the coffee table, he sees Marian's name is flashing on the screen.

Sighing, Regina leans forward to grab the remote, pausing the television and silently thanking the geniuses who invented the ability to pause live TV. She's learned by now that when Marian calls, you better answer, or you'll never hear the end of it.

He rolls his eyes over at Regina as he greets the other woman with a cheerful, "Marian," causing her to smirk. She situates herself back against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"Why didn't you tell me Regina was Roland's _teacher?!_" Marian screeches into the phone.

Shit.

Pressing on Robin's chest to help her, Regina sits up, worry evident on her face. She turns to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. Marian is yelling loud enough into the phone that she can hear her, could probably hear her from the kitchen if she's being honest.

"I didn't think it was entirely important," he declares, looking over to Regina. He rubs his hand up and down her arm comfortingly as he says, "And to be honest, I've only seen you once since I started dating her."

"Well, I think this is completely unacceptable, Robin."

She's looking at him with a scowl on her face. She doesn't know why it's such a big deal to Marian, the woman is rarely around anyway.

Robin goes on, telling her that they've already spoken with her principal and it's fine.

"Does her _school board_ know her principal approved this? Because I _will _be calling them on Monday."

Alarm bells go off in Regina's mind and tears of worry spring to her eyes, though she tries to blink them away. She's been assuming all this time that if Neal approved it, then that meant it was okay with the board as well. Now, though, fear consumes her, eating away at all those little places in her heart that had begun to believe this was a good thing.

Shit. Fuck. This isn't good.

Robin can clearly see the distress on her face because he's mouthing, _It's okay,_ in her direction while trying to calm Marian down at the same time. She's breathing out deep breaths, trying to calm her heart rate. _Inhale, exhale_, she silently chants in her mind, continuing to breathe steadily. Regina stands then, beginning to pace around the living room.

"Marian, that won't be necessary," he huffs, rubbing a hand down his face and scratching at his jawline. He's let it get a little scruffy this week, and she likes it, likes how it feels under her fingertips when they're kissing, though, she scolds herself with a scowl, that's besides the point right now. "You're just being dramatic."

"Dramatic!" she hears Marian yell through the phone, "I am not being _dramatic_, Robin."

Robin sighs again, looking up to where Regina continues to pace. He moves the phone away from his ear, pressing the speaker button. Regina stops, flicking her eyes toward the phone, thankful he's letting her hear the whole conversation. She picks up her pacing when Marian tells Robin that she went to look up Roland's school calendar on the website and saw Regina's picture listed under the first grade teachers. "I will have her fired by the end of the week!"

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. No, Regina can't have that. She can't lose her job, it's too important to her. She can hear her heartbeat in her ears as it drowns out any other sounds around her. Stopping mid-step, Regina swallows thickly, blinking and trying to listen to the rest of the conversation. A sheen of sweat has broken out on her forehead, and she vaguely wonders if she's having a small panic attack.

"That seems entirely unnecessary," Robin seethes into the phone, locking eyes with Regina. He's angry, she can tell, but he's doing a much better job than she is at hiding it. His brows furrow, head tilting to the side. He motions his hand over his chest, imitating taking a deep breath in and out, trying to get her to breathe with him.

She does, inhaling and exhaling as she stares him down, willing fire to fly from her fingertips and into the phone, ending this nightmare of a call.

Regina's teeth are clenching now and she's working her jaw back and forth. After several more minutes of Robin trying to calm Marian down, he gets her to a point where he's able to hang up.

Standing, he tucks his phone into his pocket and comes to wrap his arms around Regina. She can feel his heart thumping against her chest, beating faster than she's ever noticed before. He's furious, she knows, but he's clearly trying not to be. He breathes in and out, slowing his thunderous pulse, before declaring, "She talks a big game, she wo—" but he stops mid sentence when Regina pushes his arms off of her.

"She said she's going to get me fired, Robin." She huffs then, tears welling up in her eyes. She shakes her head, fear gripping her once again.

"Oh, darling," he sighs, pulling her one step closer. His thumb rubs back and forth against her wrist, and despite everything, she has to admit that it calms her just a touch. "Marian is full of hot air. She's just jealous and is using this as an excuse. I know her," Robin promises comfortingly, leaning in closer and pressing his forehead to hers. "She won't even call the school board."

A tear rolls down Regina's cheek then. She's been a teacher for ten years. She doesn't know what she'd do if she lost her job. She loves Robin, hasn't admitted that out loud, but knows she does, and she'd choose him over a job any day, but the thought of actually _losing _her job terrifies her more than anything.

"I'm just worried," she breathes out in to space between them, eyes looking up to meet his. "I can't lose my job. I can't—"

"You won't," he reassures emphatically, with so much conviction in his voice that she almost believes him. He leans in then, pecking her lips and gripping the back of her head, placing his forehead against hers again for a brief moment before stepping away and giving her room to pace again.

She shakes her head, tears still brimming in her eyes. Walking back and forth in front of the television, Regina worries her lip, one hand settling against her hip as the other lifts to her mouth, rubbing her bottom lip nervously. "I just... don't know, Robin. I don't know what I should do." She lets out a shaky breath, stopping in her tracks to face him.

His brows pinch together as he asks in alarm, "What are you saying?" Clearly he's agitated at this situation, as is she, and logically she knows he's on her side, but her head is spinning, thoughts of losing her job because of this woman clouding her judgement.

Her fight or flight reflexes have kicked into overdrive, and her mind is going a hundred miles a minute trying to solve this conundrum right this very second.

"I'm saying…" she trails off, scoffing at the whirlwind of emotions seizing her mind. She grips at her hair with both hands, pulling slightly, willing her mind to just _stop_. Her mind is shouting to end it now, to break up with him so Marian has nothing to go to the board about, but her heart clenches at that thought, yelling at her brain to calm down and work this out together. Taking a deep breath, willing the tears that are coating her lashes to go away, she shakes her head slowly, then whispers, "I don't know what I'm saying."

She huffs in frustration. She's angry now, her emotions flip flopping all over the place. Regina is angry with Marian for being jealous, angry at Robin for convincing her that dating a student's parent was a good idea, angry with herself for believing it. Just… angry. This whole situation is now completely fucked up all thanks to this woman. Things were going so well, too well, she should've known life was just waiting to come back and kick her in the teeth.

"I could lose my job, Robin!" she shouts, panting out a labored breath. Her pacing starts up again, one hand dramatically waving around as she speaks. "I just… don't know _what _to do." She starts to cry then, not sobbing but those traitorous tears she's pushed away moments ago creep back in, quietly making their way down her cheeks. The severity of the situation hitting both of them. "I could lose my job, or I could lose you…" Trailing off, she huffs in frustration, rambling on, "We could break up, sure, that'd solve the problem, but I don't want to do that. I could talk to Neal… maybe he knows what to do. I could pretend I'm not dating you if anyone at the board asks, I could… I could lose my _job_," she almost sobs the last word of her sentence, repeating what she's already said over and over as reality hits hard.

She comes to stand in front of him again, inhaling deeply before exhaling, blinking as more tears fall. Robin reaches up, swiping this thumbs under each eye and sighing out along with her.

They've been living in this bubble all this time, thinking that with Neal's approval of their relationship, they were in the clear. She'd been so dumb, such a stupid little girl as her mother would say, to not think about the people higher than her principal.

"Yes," he nods sadly, tears welling up in his own eyes. A stab of guilt hits her, realizing she's been freaking out, venting all her fears, not realizing that he was concerned too. "You could lose your job," he tells her, a tear falling onto his cheek, and its cracks her heart open a little more seeing it. He sniffles, smiling around his tears when she reaches up, wiping his tear away like he'd done for her earlier. "And that is very scary, and I'm _so_ sorry for that."

She takes a ragged breath, a soft sob escaping from her throat at his words, and she nods defeatedly, thinking this might really be the end of something so great.

He steps closer to her then, placing his hands on both her biceps and forcing her to look into his eyes. "But you know what scares me more?" he questions, making sure to duck his head so he's looking directly into her watery eyes. "You," he cries, shaking his head, "You walking out of here tonight, angry, scared, never coming back to me out of fear of the unknown… and me never being able to tell you how much I love you."

She gasps softly at his words and takes a shuddering breath. His words not fully sinking in just yet, she blinks rapidly, trying to clear her muddled brain. "Wh—what?"

"I love you, Regina," he chuckles wetly, eyes lifting to the ceiling as he takes a calming breath. He brings his eyes down to lock with hers, smiling despite everything happening. His teeth sink into his bottom lip, breathing out another watery laugh through his nose, stating, "I'm _in_ love with you."

She blows out a small breath, cheeks puffing out as she attempts to contain her emotions swirling around inside of her. Reaching up to wipe a tear from her cheek, she shakes her head, not fully believing this is all happening right now.

"And I know this worries you because we don't know what could happen. But I'm not worried about Marian's empty threats," he confirms, adding with a shrug, "That's all they are. Threats from a jealous ex." He takes both her hands in his, squeezing as he ducks his head again, garnering her full attention. "I need you to have faith, Regina, hope that this will work out and will be alright."

She studies his face, eyes roaming across his features before looking into those eyes that she loves so much. Closing her eyes, she breathes in and out, opening them again and looking at him sadly. "I've never been good at having hope," she cries, shrugging one shoulder up pitifully, "In anything."

Again, he wipes her tears away from her cheek gently. "I know, my love," he nods, cupping the back of her head with both hands, "but have hope in _us._"

She steps into his space, laying her head on his chest and taking another deep breath. Regina thinks over everything that has happened, now that her heart rate is slowing back to a normal range, the feeling of cotton in her ears dissipating, she's able to think more clearly, logically.

She thinks about her conversation with Neal a few weeks ago, how he'd shown her the handbook that proved there was nothing in there stating a teacher couldn't date a parent. Regina remembers the dirty looks Marian had given her the one time they met, how Robin had told her she was jealous - _One of those 'you always want what you can't have' situations, _he'd explained. Breathing more steadily, she takes another moment, relishing the feel of Robin's strong arms around her, protecting her, supporting her. He's there for her… he loves her.

She bites her bottom lip, tucking her head further into his chest as his words from moments ago, spoken so passionately, but so deeply, ringing in her ears. He loves her… she smiles… that giddy feeling she'd had earlier today when talking to Mary about him filling her chest all over again.

She'd admitted it to herself, so why is she holding back? Looking up to him then with teary eyes and a bright smile, she licks her lips before telling him softly, "I love you, too, Robin."

He pulls back enough then to look deep into her brown eyes, his blue ones piercing through her very soul. He smiles then, brighter than she's ever seen before pressing their lips together in a kiss that steals the breath out of her lungs. His tongue seeks entrance into her mouth, and she gladly grants it, moaning at the contact. She'd been so scared earlier, thinking she had no choice but to break up with him, but knowing how he feels, how they both feel, she can't imagine not being with him, and she pours all of those emotions into their embrace.

She lets out a wet laugh at that, saying, "My dad always told me that if you find someone you love enough to ruin your entire life for, it's always worth it, and you know what?" She cocks her head to the side with a grin, "He was right." She smiles fully this time, wiping another tear from her eye and telling him that Marian's threats may be empty, and she prays that they are, but even if she loses her job, they'll figure something out, no matter how terrifying that is.

Robin smiles down at her, with nothing but love in his eyes, and assures her again that Marian is not going to call the school board. "And even if she did, your boss already gave us the okay. You've covered all of your bases."

She nods, letting his words permeate. "You're right," she breathes, reality sinking back into her bones. She leans in to kiss him again, tenderly this time. He cups the back of her head, holding her close. Regina's hands slide around his neck, her fingernails scratching lightly at the base of his neck. They stand there, connected to one another, and she thinks to herself that she never wants to let go.

She loves this man, and he loves her, and they can face whatever hell Marian rains down on them together.

{*************************}

The next morning, Regina rolls over, pulling the sheet with her to cover her naked chest. She leans over, pressing light, feathery kisses to Robin's shoulder and up to his jaw.

"Mornin', R'gina," he mumbles, bringing his arm to wrap around her waist. She smiles at his slurred speech, loving how cute he is in the mornings.

He's tracing patterns up and down her spine when she greets him and says, "We slept a little later than normal. We need to get up and make breakfast."

Groaning, he slips from the bed and throws on his forest green boxers and a t-shirt. She giggles at his reluctance to move in the mornings, telling him he's just like Roland.

She stands, changing into a pair of yoga pants she'd brought with her last night and one of Robin's college tees before they head downstairs.

Once she hits the last step, she's greeted with a muted, "Mornin', Papa. Mornin', Regina!"

She smiles brightly, walking into the little office turned playroom just down the hall from the living room. "What are you doing down here already?" she asks, joining him on the floor where he's playing with his Legos.

"I woke up early and decided to play," he tells her with a nonchalant shrug and cock of the head, sounding far more grown up than a six year old. She doesn't miss the small pile of candy wrappers laying next to him, not so well hidden behind his leg as he probably thinks.

She chuckles, knowing Robin had hidden his Halloween loot in the kitchen cabinet, only to be eaten as dessert or a special treat, but clearly Roland had found a way to climb up there and get it. Kissing him on the forehead, she stands, tossing the yellow Lego into his pile. She grabs his secret stash of trash, gives him a wink and makes her way into the kitchen.

"Seems like someone found your hiding spot," she states, throwing the trash away.

Robin looks over at her from the stove, rolling his eyes in amusement and chuckling, "I guess the candy cabinet is easier to get to these days." He reminisces over how when Roland was younger, he used to slide a chair over and climb up onto the counter to reach his sippy cups. "So I'm assuming it was much of the same to get the candy."

She laughs, shaking her head and his ingenuity. "Well, points to him for being resourceful."

Robin snorts at that, nodding in agreement. He's preparing french toast for breakfast, so she makes her way to the coffee pot, turning it on and praying it gives her the energy needed to make it through the day. They'd stayed up way too late last night after everything with Marian, finishing the movie (though they missed the last half due to roaming hands and tongues), and then making love all night long, whispering their _I love you's _into each other's ears. It had been beautiful, amazing really, but she was paying for the lack of sleep now.

He kisses the side of her head when she comes to stand beside him, leaning over to check on the sticks. She tucks her nose into his shoulder blade, inhaling the scent of his pine laundry detergent before pressing her lips to the fabric of his shirt.

Roland comes clambering in, his tiny feet pattering against the floor. She steps away from Robin, patting his bum playfully before joining Roland at the table. He's brought some Legos out with him, so they spend a few minutes building a tiny tower together while Robin finishes the food.

"Alright, lad," Robin announces, turning to look at the pair. "Go put the blocks away so we can eat."

Roland huffs, but follows directions, running to drop them onto the couch before sprinting back to the table. Regina smirks, knowing Robin meant for him to put them back in the playroom, but Robin lets it slide, placing the plates of food down in front of them.

Regina stands to help, pouring the fresh coffee for her and Robin, adding the right amount of creamer she knows he likes into his. "Roland, do you want milk or apple juice?"

His lips purse in thought, finally deciding on milk. She pours him a small cup, carefully bringing it to the table with their coffees.

They dig in, Roland mmm'ing dramatically as he smears syrup on his face, exclaiming that this was the best breakfast ever.

The adults laugh, cutting their food and talking over their plans for the weekend.

As she goes to take a bite of her next french toast stick, Robin speaks up. "It's almost Thanksgiving, love. What do you normally do?"

Swallowing, she laughs dryly, saying, "Avoid my mother at all costs." She wipes a bit of syrup from the corner of her mouth, making a mental note to go on a run tonight, and takes a sip of coffee before adding, "I usually just go to Mary Margaret's for the day before we go out and shop for a while on Friday."

Robin smiles, saying that sounds like fun. "Well," he starts, sounding almost nervous. She looks up from her food, questioning him with her eyes. "I was thinking this year... you might like to join me and Roland for Thanksgiving?"

"Yeah!" Roland shouts, milk squirting out of his mouth a little bit.

She giggles, handing Roland a napkin to wipe his mouth with. "Thanksgiving with my two boys?" She smiles, picturing how adorable Roland would look dressed up, hair slicked to the side and glasses perched on his nose as he waits for the turkey to be served. Granted, knowing these two, Thanksgiving consists of t-shirts and jeans, not some fancy event like it always was growing up for her, but either way, it seems like the perfect way to spend the holiday. "Sounds like a wonderful plan to me."

She grins across the table to Robin who rubs his foot along hers underneath. He gives her a wink, breathing out, "Perfect," and taking the last bite of his breakfast.

Roland looks between both of them, a smile beaming on his little face. She notes that his and Robin's dimples are both brightly shining at the news she'll join them for the holiday, and it warms her heart. She loves both of them so much.

"We can color and eat turkey and watch the parade and play football in the backyard!" Roland exclaims, bouncing out of his seat and coming to stand next to her.

Scrunching her nose, she pulls Roland into her lap as Robin stands to clean their plates off of the table. She smiles up at him in thanks before turning her attention back to his little boy. She kisses his cheek, nudging her nose against one dimple as she tells him, "I will definitely color and eat turkey with you." She kisses the top of his head, reveling in his warm little body pressed against hers so naturally, like she was always meant to hold him.

"And watch the parade and play football, Regina!" he reiterates, pulling her from her bubble of comfort.

"Yes, yes," she chortles, ruffling his curls, "that too."

She looks over to where Robin stands washing the dishes then and says with narrowed eyes, "Would this be American football or soccer?"

"Oi!" he laughs, turning to look at her and Roland at the table. He points his sponge in her direction, shaking his head. "Don't even joke about that. You know we play _real_ football in this house."

She and Roland look at each other and giggle as Roland whispers a, _We have to call soccer football around Papa._

She chuckles then, lifting Roland from her lap to go help Robin in the kitchen. She places a kiss to his cheek, telling him to go play for a bit while they clean up breakfast.

With a nod of his floppy hair, Roland runs off to the playroom down the hall, squealing about Regina eating Thanksgiving turkey with them.

{**************************}

Regina walks over to the sink, bumping her hip against his playfully as she reaches for the dish towel. "I'll dry."

He smiles over at her, thanking her for the help. He washes the last few, handing them off to her when he's finished. Once done, they dry their hands, walking into the living room.

Sitting down on the couch, cartoons still playing in the background from earlier, Regina hooks her legs around Robin's and straddles his lap. "Hello," he drawls, hands caressing up her thighs to rest on her hips. He loves the way her body feels against his, hopes to never lose this feeling. "Is this why you sent him to the playroom?"

She smacks his chest, rolling her eyes as she leans down, kissing his lips. Roland is loud enough that he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will hear him coming before he can catch them like this, his bare feet alone being warning enough to let her slip off Robin's lap.

Robin's hands find purchase on her waist, sliding down to grope her rear. He leans in, pressing his lips to hers, deepening what she'd started. He moans into the embrace, bringing one hand up to run through her hair and tuck a piece behind her ear.

She smiles into the kiss, running her tongue along the seam of his, asking to be let in. He opens his mouth eagerly, always willing to let her in, their tongues dancing together inside his mouth, a feeling he loves oh so much.

Pulling back to seemingly catch her breath, she smiles down at him. "I love you." He beams at her words, happy they can finally say it out loud. It feels good, feels right, no matter how soon it may be to outsiders looking in. He took almost a year to say it to Marian, thought that waiting made it seem more profound, but if he's realized anything over the past few years, it's that letting society dictate how you should behave in a relationship takes the joy out of expressing your true feelings when you're hit with them. As the cliché goes, when you know, you know. And boy, did he know with Regina. He loves her, and she loves him, and he can't help the warm feeling that knowledge makes grow in his belly (and heart).

"I love you, too," he grins, running a hand up and down her side. They gaze into each other's eyes for a moment, Robin fully convinced that he could stare into her eyes for the rest of his life and never get tired of it. She has miniscule flecks of gold that shimmer within her brown orbs, but only if you look deep enough, and each time he gets the chance, he discovers another speck of the amber color that he finds fascinating.

She breaks their eye contact, sliding off his lap and cuddling into his side. She seems to like that spot, where her shoulder is tucked beneath his, head on his chest, and he can't complain; he likes having her there. Regina takes the remote, flipping through to settle on something not animated before revealing, "I'm excited to come over for Thanksgiving."

"I'm excited to have you over for Thanksgiving," he grins, pressing another kiss to the top of her head.

They sit in silence for a beat, her hand tracing patterns over his heart as they watch the anchor on TV discuss highlights from the latest singing competition that aired. She flips the screen back to Netflix and clicking on Moana, claims she knows Roland will want to rewatch it at some point today, so they watch for a little while as baby Moana discovers her love for the ocean.

The only sounds to be heard are Roland's laughter down the hall and the low murmurs of Moana singing on the television before Regina speaks, saying, "What should I bring over? I don't want you to have to do all the cooking."

"Just yourself…" he says with a smile, trailing off as if a thought is coming to him. "And maybe one of those apple pies you're always raving about."

She giggles then, telling him, "Well, I do make the best ones in town!" She loves to bake, and anything apple is her specialty, so she's excited to show off her baking skills to him. She'd bragged to him on one of their late night chats that she was an excellent cook but an even better baker. _Name a dessert and I guarantee I can make it_, she'd boasted, causing him to snort. She's so cute when she's confident.

He tells her he can't wait to taste it and brings his hand up, cupping her cheek. He pulls her face up a bit for better access and places another lingering kiss to her lips.

Pulling away, Regina smiles, saying she'll have to make dessert one night to let him and Roland taste test her best sweets.

He rubs his stomach, declaring that he's more than willing to be her guinea pig as she tries out any and all recipes.

She pats his belly playfully, leaning in to kiss his cheek. "So," she states, changing the subject, "when do you want to go on that double date?"

Robin chuckles, picking her legs up and stretching them out over his lap as she twists, adjusting herself to the new position and sighing gratefully. He takes her feet, massaging lightly as he informs her that he doesn't care when they go. "It'll be fun, I'm up for going whenever."

They discuss nights to go, deciding a weekend will probably be best with Jasmine's class schedule. "Well, we only have next weekend if we want to go anytime soon. Next week is our last week before Thanksgiving break," she explains, wiggling her toes when he stops his ministrations.

He grins, taking the hint and picking up the pace, pressing his thumb into the arch of her foot, causing her to moan. Fuck, he loves that sound, had made her moan all night last night, but he wills his cock to focus on the conversation at hand. He moves his thumb, working on a knot he's just discovered in her foot. "Next weekend sounds good, let me text Jasmine now and ask."

Nodding, she picks up her phone as well, shooting Mary a text, asking if they are free next weekend.

It doesn't take but about thirty seconds before Regina snorts in amusement, turning her phone around to show him the very excited text of, _Yes, of course! Next weekend is perfect!_ from Mary, accompanied with a heart, praise hands, and the confetti emojis.

He laughs, shaking his head. "I can't wait to spend more time with her. She seems fun." They share another laugh together just as Robin's phone goes off with a text from Jasmine confirming she's free to watch Roland.

With all of that settled, Robin taps the bottom of her foot, gently pushing on her legs to make her stand. He mumbles something about her needing a massage from being on her feet all day at work and stores that bit of information away for a nice Christmas present this year. Once up, he presses a kiss to her hair, whispering that they should go get ready for the day.

"I figured we could stay in our pajamas all day," she jests, smirking at him. "I think that sounds much more fun than going to the aquarium."

Robin snickers, taking a step back to pat her bum as he turns to walk toward the stairs, saying he somehow doesn't think Roland would agree. "Although I would _love_ to keep you here and in, or _out_, of pajamas all day." He winks, tugging her hand to lead her upstairs.

"Roland," she calls, stopping on the first step. "We need to get dressed so we can go to the aquarium." He smiles, pausing to hear his son's response, and his heart warms at the natural way Regina calls out to him, so nurturing even in the little moments like this.

The little boy yelps happily, the sound of Legos being tossed to the floor reverberate down the short hallway. "Yes, ma'am!" he shouts, running out of the playroom and down the hall to join them at the steps.

When they reach the top, Roland rushes into his bedroom, pulling his clothes out like the big boy that he is.

Regina walks into Robin's room, sighing and saying she only has the jeans she wore to work yesterday. "Thank god it was casual Friday so I'm at least in jeans!" she huffs, plopping onto the bed and flipping through Instagram. The only other thing she has here are the leggings she's currently wearing and the _Bayside High_ t-shirt she'd left here last week to sleep in. "I don't exactly want to wear my _Bayside_ shirt out in public," she sighs, standing to slip it on.

Turning around, he spies her biting her lip, staring at his chest as he slides his shirt on. He smirks, loving that he can have this effect on her, because she certainly has the same one on him whenever she so much as breathes in his direction.

"See something you like?" he jests, wiggling his shoulders as he walks toward her.

"Eh," she says, her lip curling in mock-indifference, "not really."

They laugh together, Robin pulling her into his chest. She looks up into his eyes, smiling as he leans in for another kiss. They can't seem to stop kissing today, not that he's complaining. "You look so cute in your _Saved by the Bell_ t-shirt, love," he quips, taking her hand and twirling her out to get a better look. "I have to say, it's your best look yet."

Rolling her eyes, she tugs at the bottom of it. She's had it since college, apparently, and has always just slept in it, so she admits that she feels self-conscious. "I have a cardigan I can put over it," she chuckles, looking to him apprehensively.

Robin shakes his head, telling her they can swing by her place to grab a change of clothes. He would never want her to feel awkward out in public over something as simple as a shirt. "And maybe grab another set for tomorrow? Unless you want to sleep at your place tonight."

His insecure questioning makes him feel like he's back in high school, but the way she looks at him makes Robin feel as if her heart warmed at his question. She steps closer, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love spending time with you and Roland on the weekends." She presses a quick kiss to his lips, adding, "It's the best chunk of time we can get all together before the week starts again."

Robin nods, agreeing. She stays so late some days at work or he has meetings that run late, so it's not very often they get a lot of time with all three of them during the week. Normally she sees Roland at school, obviously, and she might come over for dinner or have them over once or twice unless Robin takes her on a date, but the weekends are more… intimate, more time to just… be. He loves the weekends for that reason alone. She reassures him of her answer with a peck to his lips. "I'd love to stay over again tonight."

He smiles brightly, returning the kiss quickly before stepping back. "Perhaps, then, you might... want to bring a few outfits?" He raises his brows, not sure how to word what he's thinking. "That way you, uh, have more clothes here for the weekends and don't have to think so much about when to bring clothes over or not…"

Her teeth sink into her bottom lip, eyes fluttering as she looks down, then back up to him as a pink tinge sweeps across her beautiful cheeks. "That… would be great." She raises onto her tiptoes, placing a kiss to his cheek. "And you can bring some to my place, too?"

Nodding in happy compliance, he taps the tip of her nose, causing it to wrinkle in that adorable way, before stepping away. Robin pokes his head out into the hallway, calling for Roland. The little boy hollers back, saying he's just putting on his shoes. "I better go help," Robin snorts, knowing how long his boy can take sometimes when it comes to tying his shoes.

Regina giggles, saying she'll go downstairs and wait. "Hey," she calls before he can leave the room completely. Robin turns around in the doorway, looking back at her. "I love you."

He beams in response, eyes lighting up. He'll never get tired of hearing those words coming out of her mouth. She'd whispered it into his ear before curling against his chest last night, and he'd reassured her of his equally shared affection before drifting off to sleep with a megawatt smile plastered to his face. "I like the sound of that. And I love you too, love."

They smile at each other, lost in the moment. It's effectively broken though when Roland bursts through the door, one shoe on his foot, untied, the other waving around in the air as he plops onto Robin's bed, begging Regina to help him.

Smirking, he watches as Regina grins as well, trailing her eyes from one Locksley boy to the other, making her way over to the bench at the foot of the bed. She kneels on the bench, grabbing his little foot playfully. She slips it on, going into teacher mode as she encourages him to try again.

With his tongue poking out between his teeth, Roland pushes his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose, peering down at the pesky shoe strings. He makes a few attempts, one technically done but extremely loose, so Regina has him redo it. She has so much more patience than he does, it's a quality he admires and wishes he possessed. He doesn't often get frustrated with his son, but after five attempts to tie one shoe, he would've just done it for the boy by now. But, he muses, she puts up with this all day, so she's learned to let kids figure things out on their own.

After another try, Roland finally gets it tight enough, jumping down from the mattress and exclaiming that he's ready to go see the whales and dolphins.

He runs out of the room, shouting down the stairs about how much fun they're going to have. Regina chuckles, picking her cell phone off the dresser and tucking it into her back pocket. She walks into the hallway, looking back to make sure Robin is ready. He grabs his keys, twirling them around his finger as he smiles in her direction. They smile again, another thing they can't seem to stop doing this morning, and walk downstairs, excited to spend another weekend all together.

{*************************}

_Thoughts? All reviews are welcome! lol_


	6. Chapter 6

_Thanks to those who have continued to read this. Only two more chapters to go after this one. Enjoy!_

{******************************}

**Chapter Six:**

"Yeah," he smiles into the phone, peeking into the living room. "I'm really happy, Neal."

He watches Regina and Roland laughing together as they sit around the coffee table, open books of hidden pictures and their highlighters scattered around it.

"That's great, man," his friend encourages, and Robin can hear the smile in his voice. "Regina is great."

Smiling again, a feature that can't seem to leave his face lately, he agrees, saying, "She really is," as he spies Roland bouncing on his knees squealing a, _Gina! I found the feather! Look!_ While leaning closer to the hidden picture book, tongue poking out the side of his mouth as he excitedly circles the found object in his picture.

Neal suggests they get the boys together soon for a play date. "Henry's been staying with his mom the last few weekends, but he'll be here for the whole Thanksgiving break."

Nodding, he chuckles to himself as he hears Roland exclaim from the other room that he found another object. "That would be great. Roland would love that."

"Speaking of moms…" Neal trails off, leaving the question unsaid, but completely heard.

Robin sighs, swiping a hand over his face and around to his neck, scratching at his skin.

Regina giggles, kissing Roland on the top of his head as she encourages him to look for another one in the picture. His son leans closer to her, pushing his glasses up on his face when they twist due to pressing into Regina's side. She smiles down at him, a hand reaching up to rub his back softly.

God, he loves Regina, loves watching her with his son, but he has to remind himself to pay attention to his friend's words.

"You there?"

"Yeah, sorry," he hums, turning away from the living room and back into the kitchen as he hears Regina tells Roland she found the chunk of cheese in their picture.

_Good job, Gina!_ His son squeals, causing Robin to grin again.

"Marian," he huffs, rolling his eyes. "She hasn't been around a lot lately," he explains, telling Neal that she's been traveling a lot more for work the last few months, been gone almost a whole month now since she left for New York around Halloween.

"I thought the whole point of you and Roland moving to Storybrooke was to be closer to her."

Scoffing out a humorless laugh, he agrees, telling his friend that it _was_, things just hadn't worked out quite yet. "Marian has lived here for a while, since her office transferred here, so yeah, Roland sees her when she's in town." He tries his best to defends his ex, knowing she tries her best to be present in their son's life, but her new position at work sends her away more often than they were expecting when Robin decided to uproot him and Roland and move across the state.

Neal grunts, a noise that doesn't necessarily mean he agrees or disagrees. Robin knows his friend struggles to see the best in partners now that Emma had left him for that other guy.

_Look, there's the spoon!_ he can hear Regina say, a breathy laugh falling from her lips. Grinning, he tosses the dish towel he's mindlessly been toying with onto the counter, turning to face the open doorway that leads into the living room.

Regina must sense him, because she looks up from where Roland's floppy hair is flapping away wildly as he sits up straight, circling another found object. She smiles at him, one of those soft, hooded eyed ones that always make his heart flutter.

His lips turn up in return, sending her a nod.

"So you can be expecting a phone call from Marian any day now," he laughs dryly, rolling his eyes once more at the thought of how dramatic his ex had been the other night, threatening to get Regina fired.

Neal asks why, and he explains the situation, giving him every detail of the theatrical performance Marian gave on the phone.

Barking out a laughter, Neal coughs into the phone, trying to cover his amusement. Robin snorts, glad someone finds the situating humorous. "I'm sorry, man," his friend says, "but that's ridiculous."

He explains that the school board is already in agreement with him, not that he had to ask their permission. It wasn't a big issue, not nearly as large of one as Regina had first assumed (being the rule follower that she always has been). He, as principal, had already confirmed that it would not affect Roland's grades and that she could handle having her boyfriend's son in her classroom as a professional. "Who knew she'd even stick with your ugly mug for this long!"

Chortling now, Roland locks eyes with Regina again, her smile growing as she watches his mirth blossom.

"So about this playdate," Robin says, changing the subject. His eyes move over to Roland who is grabbing a blanket off of the couch and cuddling into Regina's lap. Her arms loop around him, a small, content smile on her face. She's whispering something to him now, his son nodding as he leans closer to the coffee table, scouring the hidden picture page to find another object.

The guys make plans to get Henry and Roland together at the start of Thanksgiving break, letting them run off their pent up energy the week of school before the break is bound to rile them up, making them antsy for some free time.

Hanging up, he locks his phone, tucking it into his back pocket as he makes his way into the living room.

"Seems like it was a good phone call…"

He smiles, plopping onto the couch behind her and Roland. He knows she was nervous when Neal had called him, chewing on her lip when he stood up to talk in the kitchen. "Yeah, it was really nice to catch up."

Robin's hand squeezes her shoulder, and she tilts her head back, landing against his knee as her eyes trail up to meet his. He bends the best he can, his lips only able to reach her nose instead of her lips, and plants a quick peck to the tip of it, making her scrunch it in reply.

She rights herself, repositioning Roland in her lap. Robin smiles, watching over their shoulders as they find the last hidden object in the picture.

"Good job!" Regina cheers, kissing Roland on the cheek in congratulations.

His son beams, picking up the hidden picture book and waving it in the air for Robin to look at. Laughing, he takes it from Roland's hands, scanning his eyes over the page. He can tell which ones Regina had discovered, just a few neatly formed highlighter circles, while the rest were clearly his son. The sloppy, overexaggerated circles taking up more room than need be.

Roland leaves Regina's lap, climbing onto the couch beside him. Robin smiles down at his boy, complimenting his good work. Regina stands, stretching her back after sitting on the floor for so long. She twists her torso, a small pop of her vertebrates echoing in the space between them.

She joins them on the couch, situating herself on the opposite side of Robin. He tosses the hidden picture booklet on to the coffee table, then drapes an arm over her shoulders. She snuggles into him, placing a kiss to his cheek.

Roland squirms around, trying to get comfortable. His feet push at the armrest of the couch, his grunts and huffs causing Robin and Regina to quietly laugh through their noses at him. They both scootch over to the other end of the couch, giving him more room. He finally settles, his head in Robin's lap, his feet propped up on the armrest, a yawn escaping him as he watches the movie playing on the television.

While his son is entertained, Robin talks quietly to Regina, letting her know what Neal had to say about Marian's threat. She smiles when she hears about his reaction, but Robin knows she's still worried his ex will cause problems at her job.

"Oh," Robin calls, getting Roland's attention away from the movie, "and Neal wants to meet us at the park one day with Henry over break."

"Yeah!" Roland exclaims, the later afternoon exhaustion clearly fading.

Robin snorts, wrapping his arm around Roland and bringing him closer. He playfully rubs his knuckles against his curly hair, mussing his brown locks. He tells Roland that they are planning to meet up either Friday after school lets out for break or Saturday. More than likely Saturday since Neal will be busy getting things done at work on Friday.

Roland hops down from the couch with a _whoop!_ and opening up to the next page in the hidden picture book.

Robin looks over at Regina, saying, "You're more than welcome to join us, of course."

She smiles at him, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. She nods, saying it might be a little weird since Neal is her boss, but she'd love to join.

Nodding once, Robin slides down from the sofa and onto the floor, picking up the light blue highlighter from the table, scanning his eyes over the picture trying to find one of the hidden objects.

He reaches his free hand across and over his shoulder, tugging on Regina's leg, silently asking her to join them again on the floor.

She scoffs, pretending to be bothered by having to sit on the floor once more, but the smile she gives both he and Roland gives her away. He leans across the corner of the table, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek.

They spend the next twenty minutes pretending to be unable to locate the hidden objects, allowing Roland to find most of them. His son guffaws, claiming he's better at this than the adults are, and they share knowing grins.

The rest of their lazy Sunday is spent completing four more hidden pictures, watching movies and taking naps together in the living room. It's the perfect day, and Robin's heart feels warmer than it has in a very long time.

{******************************}

"Alright, let's get into groups," Regina announces, listing off where each group of students needs to go for their first rotation.

The students transition calmly, giving Regina a sense of peace. It's the little things in a classroom that make a teacher happy, and smooth transitions is one of them. It saves time, she can make her way to her horseshoe table quicker and pull a group of students to work on the skill they're learning.

Just as her group of three students–two girls and a boy–sit down, there's a knock on her door. She calls the student closest to the door to open it, and when the students at her table begin reading their books, Regina glances over to see who it was.

Her blood runs cold, or stops running completely and drains from her body right then and there, she isn't entirely sure.

Marian.

"Mama!" Roland shouts happily, popping up from his spot on the floor where he'd been reading and rushing over to hug his mother.

The olive skinned woman gives Regina a small smile before bending down to wrap her arms around Roland. She whispers something to the boy, and Regina tries with all her might not to lean closer and listen.

Clearing her throat, Regina gives her group of students a tiny grin, asking them to go back to reading. She's well aware her entire class is now off task thanks to the interruption, curious little things that they are, so she makes an announcement to the room to get back to work.

She can hear the magnetic letters her word work station is using clatter against the table as they begin spelling words again, the group on the computer start clicking away and the ones laying on pillows as they read to themselves turn away from the door, picking up their books once again.

Smirking, she tries not to chuckle as she thinks how much like a sitcom they all just looked, all moving in tandem to get back to their task before the teacher caught them.

"I'm sorry," Marian admits softly, stepping over to her table. Roland's little arms are still wrapped around her waist, his face buried into her hip. He peeks out, grinning at Regina, and she can't help but to smile back at him. She knows he loves his mother, and she wishes he got to see her more often.

Regina shakes her head at Marian, asking if she needed to talk to her. She mumbles an, "If you don't mind," and Regina sighs to herself, knowing she'll never get to meet with this reading group today now. She hates interruptions to her daily routine at work.

But, she's a professional, so she smiles, asking her group to take their books and find a spot to read in the room. "I'll pull you three again when we're finished if there's time," she says sweetly.

The trio nods, standing and settling somewhere in the room. Regina asks Roland to go back to work as well while she speaks with his mom.

Nodding, his brown curls moving with the movement, he walks away after giving Marian a kiss to her cheek.

"I'm sorry," the brunette giggles annoyingly, a bright smile on her face as she pulls out one of the kid-sized chairs and sits down across from Regina.

Regina tries her hardest not to roll her eyes, still pissed that this woman threatened to get her fired all for dating Robin. Smiling tightly, she assures her it's fine.

"I was just up here talking with Mr. Cassidy," she declares, and Regina's eyes snap back from where she'd been checking on her students over to Marian's, meeting her brown eyes.

A worried expression must cross her face, because Marian smiles and shakes her head. "Nothing bad," she holds up her hands in surrender, "I just wanted to check on Roland."

She informs Regina how she's spoken with the principal, wanting to be reassured that their _situation_ wasn't going to affect Roland's progress in school. Again, she resists the temptation to roll her eyes as she explains to the other woman that it won't. "I've been teaching for quite some time now," she tells her, "I wouldn't let who I'm dating," she says the word softly, knowing she has curious little ears trying to listen to their conversation, "change how I view a student."

Marian nods, readjusting the oversized Gucci purse in her lap. She mentions that Neal had told her the same thing, promising her that Regina and Robin wouldn't be a problem. His grades wouldn't be affected, and Neal had nothing but complete trust in both Miss Mills and Robin.

Regina tamps down the smile growing, reminding herself to text Robin later to let him know that they need to thank Neal while at their playdate in a few days.

Marian smiles again, turning to look out across the classroom. She asks if she can stay for a few minutes, wanting to watch Roland and make sure he was doing okay in school.

Ever the willing teacher, even though she secretly hates when parents drop in like this, she tells her it's fine.

Regina calls her three students from earlier back to her table, resuming her guided reading lesson. She can only half focus, though, as her eyes continue to glance over to one of the children tables, watching as Marian keeps and eye on Roland, smiling to herself as she observes her son.

After about ten minutes, Marian finally stands, going over to give Roland a kiss on the top of his head, then waves her goodbye to Regina, making a silent exit from the classroom.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Regina sits back in the chair she's in, twisting her lips together as she thinks about the conversation she had with Marian.

Noticing the time, she has her class clean up. Once done with the task, they line up and Regina walks them to their music class. While the students are gone, she texts Robin, sending him a, _You won't believe what just happened_, accompanied by the mind-exploding emoji.

That night, Regina goes over to Robin's house, wanting to give him more details from the interaction with Marian.

He cooks them all a delicious lasagna (though it's nothing compared to hers, which she lets him know with a smirk), and once Roland has been put to bed, they can finally talk about it all.

"What exactly did she say to you?" he asks, plopping down onto the couch beside her. His arm comes to rest on the back of the couch, and Regina sets down her glass of wine, snuggling into his chest.

She shrugs a shoulder, recounting exactly what Marian had told her earlier. "I am super curious, though, to know how her conversation with Neal went."

They both snicker, Robin saying he'll have to call him later and get the details.

Regina giggles, and Robin leans in, pressing a kiss to her lips. She brings one hand up, cupping his cheek as she pulls herself up closer to her body, deepening the kiss. Robin's hand slides from the back of the couch and into her hair, tangling around her dark locks.

She moans, moving to straddle his waist. He sits back, allowing her more room, and his hands find purchase on her hips. His tongue peeks out, running along the seam of her lips, begging for entrance.

Regina grins wolfishly into the embrace, parting her lips for him. She grinds on his lap, his cock hardening with the ministrations.

"Fuck, babe," he growls as she presses her hips down harder, his hands squeezing at her hips. His thumbs sneak under the fabric of her shirt, rubbing up and down against her now-goosebump covered flesh.

Regina leans her head back, giving him room to move his lips from hers down to her jaw. He sucks a wet trail from her jaw to her neck, sucking on her pulse point and pulling a moan from her lips. She leans into him, nipping at his earlobe.

Just as he begins to move his hips beneath her, his phone rings.

They break apart with heavy sighs, both chuckling as they come out of the fog they were just in. Robin tightens his grip around her with one arm, tilting her back slightly as his other hand reaches around her to grab his phone off of the coffee table.

"Shit," he mumbles. "It's Marian."

Regina's head falls back, eyes rolling to the ceiling. She looks back at him, pressing a quick peck to his lips before sliding off of his lap.

He gives her a sympathetic smile, swiping his phone open to answer. "Hello?"

Marian greets him, and Regina lean against his chest, listening intently to the other woman whom she can hear through the phone against Robin's ear.

He must sense she's trying to listen, though he should have figured at his point, she thinks with a grin, because he pulls the phone away, clicking it to speaker phone.

Marian is telling Robin about her conversation with Neal, and he asks, "And did… talking to him make you feel better?"

She quickly exhales, admitting she overreacted. "I was just blindsided by her being Roland's teacher, Robin," she confesses. "I was thrown off."

Robin meets her stunned gaze, both surprised at how vulnerable Marian is being. Her calm tone must make Robin more comfortable compared to the last time they spoke about Regina because he gently says, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Perhaps that was my fault."

Marian exhales again, conceding. "No… it was mine. Like I said, I overreacted, and I'm sorry."

Robin's head almost flies off at the speed her whips it back to look at Regina in shock, and she has to stifle a laugh, bringing a hand up to cover her mouth.

She bites her lip, moving that hand away to run through her hair, pushing it out of her face. She leans over, pressing a soft kiss to Robin's shoulder as she looks up at him.

"Seeing Roland doing so well in class today made me feel a lot better," Marian discloses, and Regina looks to Robin again. His eyes are shining with pride. Pride… at her? Or Roland? She isn't sure, but whatever it is, she loves the look on his face. He looks so happy, so pleased, and she never wants that look to go away.

"Good," he tells her, nodding even though his ex can't actually see him. "I'm glad it helped, then."

The pair talk for another minute, planning when Roland can come over to her house. She'll be out of town for Thanksgiving, but she doesn't leave until Sunday afternoon, so maybe after his playdate with Henry, he can spend the night with her.

Robin says he'll text her when he knows more details of his playdate, and Marian agrees, thanking him.

They hang up, and Robin sighs, tossing his phone on the cushion beside him.

"Well," she drawls, looking back to him. "That went… better than expected."

Robin lets out a single chuckle from the depths of his chest, breathing out with the laugh. "You can say that again."

They grin at one another, Robin reaches over to grab at her waist, murmuring a husky, "Now where were we?" as he pulls her back into his lap.

She laughs, head falling back in amusement. Righting it, she stares into his gorgeous blue eyes, whispering an _I love you_. He returns the sentiment, and they spend the rest of the night doing deliciously dirty things on his couch before she sighs, saying she has to go home. It's been a long day, and she needs as much sleep as possible before tomorrow.

"The kids are all hyped up knowing we get out next Friday for the holiday," she hums, pecking his lips again, "so it's going to be like herding stray cats until then."

Laughing, Robin stands, taking her hand and pulling her up with him. He kisses her lips once again, saying, "Alright, love," and walking her to the door.

They prolong her departure, kissing some more behind his closed front door before she finally huffss in defeat. "I really have to go."

Grinning, he pecks her lips again before opening the door. He bids her goodnight, and as she drives away, she smiles at the jittery feeling she still gets every time she's with Robin Locksley.

{*****************************}

That weekend, Robin finishes the dishes Roland had used earlier with his snack, talking to Regina who relaxes in the living room. "Well tonight was nice," he tells her, tossing the dish towel onto the counter. He grabs his glass of wine, joining her on the couch. She's got a movie playing, though she doesn't seem to be paying much attention to it.

He hears her mumble an agreement, but notices it's a bit distant.

"Hey," he nudges her leg, lifting them up to place in his lap as he sits on the couch. "You okay?"

Her eyes are distant, but she shakes her head, pulling herself back to their conversation. "Yeah," she gives him an uneasy smile. "It was nice."

She doesn't seem too convinced of her own answer, but he's not sure why. Dinner with Mary Margaret and David had been a lot of fun. David seems like a great guy, someone Robin can see himself becoming better friends with.

Mary had already started envisioning more double dates and hang outs, telling them all excitedly at dinner how they could go do something over Christmas break together.

"_We could go to the Christmas market downtown!" Mary Margaret exclaims, clasping her hands together as she looks around the table with bright eyes. "Roland could come, of course," she adds, saying he might not want to hang out with two teachers from school, but he was more than welcome to join. "We could go get some ice cream and take him ice skating and–"_

"–_We can probably plan that closer to Christmas break, babe," David says, ending the woman's rant._

_Robin and Regina chuckle under their breath, and Robin catches eyes with David, both smirking while David rolls his eyes good naturedly. _

Robin laughs at the memory, shaking his head.

He looks over to Regina, giving her a questioning look when he sees she's lost to her thoughts again. He sets his wine glass down next to hers on the coffee table and takes one of her feet in his hands, kneading the muscles there.

She moans slightly, looking over to him. He gives her another look, one that begs her to open up to him, and she caves, a small smile blooming on her face. "It _was_ nice. I'm glad you got to meet David," she replies, reaching down to take his hand in hers, stopping his ministrations. "Her talking about her mom helping so much with the wedding just kind of…" she trails off, lips twisting as if she's holding back emotion, "got to me."

"Why's that?"

Huffing out a breath, she sits up, repositioning herself so she's sitting criss-cross on the couch, facing him. "My mom and I don't have… the best relationship."

His head tilts, interested to learn this side of her. They've never talked too deeply about their families; he knew she was much closer with her father, had assumed her connection with her mother wasn't as close but never knew the details of anything. He thinks back to their first date, that was really the only time their families had come up, but he thinks it might be time to discuss it in more detail, for both of them.

Robin thinks over dinner, knowing the moment she speaks of.

"_How are the wedding plans coming along?" Robin asks, steering the conversation away from the boring, getting to know someone questions. _

_David and Mary both light up at the question, Mary practically bouncing in her seat. She tells them that things are going well, she and Regina have been making plans on Pinterest at work, while she and David have been slowly buying decorations._

_He looks over to Regina, grinning as he imagines the two huddled over one of their desks pinning wedding ideas instead of doing lesson plans. She smirks back at him, rolling her eyes playfully. _

"_It's coming up soon, yeah?"_

_Mary Margaret nods, saying it's going to be in April, so they only have a few months to get things done. _

"_Our families have been a big help though," David adds, draping his arm across the back of Mary's chair. _

_The pixie-cut brunette scoots her chair a tad closer to him, snuggling into his arm as she agrees. "To be fair, my dad isn't doing much," she giggles, saying, "all he has to do it get a tux and walk me down the aisle."_

_David laughs, nodding but revealing his father passed away when he was ten, so his mom was on full wedding mode trying to help as much as possible. "Oh god," Mary guffaws, placing a hand over her nose as she practically snorts, saying, "His mom and my mom are acting like the world is ending and this is the last wedding the universe will ever see!"_

_They all laugh, Robin picking up a bite of his steak. They talk for a few more minutes about the wedding, Mary revealing that her mom has been really helpful, despite all their joking. "She's gone dress shopping with me and offered to meet with a wedding planner while I am at work to help move things along. She's been a huge asset to us!"_

"_That's great," Robin says, adding that it's nice to have someone who knows you so well help out while she's busy at work. _

_Mary agrees with a broad smile, placing the last of her chicken into her mouth. David sips on his wine, picking at the roll on his plate, and Robin looks over to Regina, realizing she's been quiet during all of this wedding talk. _

_She's got an odd expression on her face, and Robin can't quite place it. She looks sad but also just… unbothered? Like she's blocking the conversation from her mind for a reason. He makes a mental note to ask her about it later as he slips his arm around her shoulders. _

_With that movement, she looks up from her chicken, giving him a sweet smile. Mary Margaret notices, and perks up even more, gushing about how cute the two of them are together. "Enough wedding talk," she proclaims, "let's talk about you guys!"_

He realizes his mental note was useless because he's forgotten until just now about that look that crossed her face.

"Is that why you looked so off when Mary was talking about her mom?"

Regina nods, rubbing her lips together nervously. She looks toward the television, eyes scanning the screen as the movie still plays softly in the background. Her eyes roam back to his, saying, "It was just… hard, you know? Hearing someone talk about how helpful their mom is and how much their mom cares about them."

He scoots closer to her, resting a hand on her hip, his thumb tracing mindless patterns against it. Robin encourages her to continue, asking if her mom wasn't like that.

Scoffing, she rolls her eyes. "Cora Mills wouldn't be caught _dead_ helping plan a wedding. She'd hire the most expensive wedding planner as her contribution and then not show up until the day of the ceremony, dressed in her most outlandish outfit, acting like she's the proudest mother the city has ever seen."

He can hear the disdain in her voice, and he feels for her. Robin knows what it's like to have a terrible parent. "Was she involved much growing up or has this always been a thing?"

Regina tilts her head in thought, shrugging. She takes his hand that's still on her hip in hers, intertwining their fingers. He adjusts himself on the couch, mirroring her criss-cross stance by bending one leg onto the couch, leaving the other foot on the ground. Their knees are touching, and he takes her other hand in his, letting their clasped palms rest atop their knees.

"My mother was never involved with anything," she reveals, breathing out a weighted breath. "She was too busy at the country club or running her business." Regina looks to the ceiling, then back to him, her brown eyes glossier than before. "I think she forgot she had a kid."

His eyes soften in sympathy, telling her he's sorry. She assures him there's nothing to be sorry for, it is what it is, but he still feels for her. He knows how important having a mom around is for young girls.

"My dad was a shitty one too," he sighs, squeezing her hands. He lets go, grabbing his wine from the table. He looks over his shoulder, silently questioning if she wants hers as well. She nods, reaching out as he passes it to her.

"Was he?" she asks, bringing the conversation back to their families.

Robin nods, humphing out a _Mmhmm_ as he swallows a sip of red wine. "The shittiest," he chuckles, shaking his head. "Mum tried to make it work, but my dad just couldn't commit to being a father. I think having two sons was too much for him."

It's her turn to look at him sympathetically, telling him she's sorry. He waves her off, admitting he and Will learned to deal with it. "I had a lot of unresolved anger toward him the older I got," he explains. "My dad was around until I was about eleven, then decided to spend more and more time at the bars and with women who weren't my mum, though I think he was spending time with them since Will was born anyway."

Regina sets her wine back down, taking his and placing it on the coffee table next so she can take his hands back in hers, giving them a comforting squeeze. "That's awful," she says.

He shrugs, a learned response from over the years. His father's terrible life choices no longer angering him but still rubbing the wrong way, especially now that he's a father. "He eventually decided to leave for good right before I went into high school." He reveals how he started high school full of rage–getting into fights, picking on people– "I was an all around little shit," he smirks.

"Meeting my friend John really helped though."

"John… from work? How so?"

Robin smiles, thinking of his big, burly friend. Nodding in reply, confirming that his best partner is work is indeed the same man he speaks of, he recounts how he'd picked a fight with John one day after math class, claiming he was cheating off of his paper. John had pulled him into the bathroom, pretending to be angry. "Once we were alone in there, he shoved me off of him, telling me that being angry wasn't the way to handle my emotions."

"Well that was awfully mature for a high school boy."

They chuckle together, Robin saying that John was always more mature when it came to emotions. He'd been in therapy since he was nine after his mom died, learning to deal with his grief and anger in a healthy way. "He's the biggest man I know, intimidating to anyone around him, but he's the biggest softy you'll ever meet."

Regina giggles, saying she can't wait to meet him. She'd gone by his work several times by now, but John was always out either giving a tour of the museum to a group or meeting with other wildlife conservationists who were donating items to their wing of the museum. It was always just bad timing. Realizing this, however, Robin decides to have John over for dinner one night so the two of them can officially get to know one another. He knows his best friend and girlfriend will instantly hit it off.

"Is your history with your dad why you've tried so hard with Marian?" she asks after a beat of silence.

Robin tilts his head to the side, thinking. "Hm," he pushes out on a weighted exhales, "I guess it is." He tells her how he never wanted Roland to grow up without both of his parents, even if their relationship couldn't work out. "I think perhaps it's why I've been more annoyed with her lately," he confesses. "I uprooted everything just so Roland could be closer to his mum, and her job takes her out of town almost every week anyway."

Regina nods, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb, saying he understands.

"Moving was a great decision, though," he divulges, a grin forming on his lips. "Roland goes to this fantastic school. Great staff."

A smirk instantly blooms on her face, lighting it up in that way he loves so much. "Mm," she says, nodding, "I hear they have some amazing teachers."

"The best," he chuckles, lightening the mood. "Roland's teacher is pretty damn gorgeous, I have to say."

Snickering, she swats at his chest, rolling her eyes with a broad smile.

Regina reaches over, taking a sip of her wine once more before sitting back, exhaling deeply, slowly, as she relaxes. She takes Robin's hand again, letting them rest back on their knees. They talk some more about their families, both reveling in the fact that they each had at least one good parent. "My dad was amazing," Regina beams. "He was always super supportive of all my interests. He'd take me horseback riding on the weekends; it was our escape from mother."

Robin chortles, saying he's glad she had that. "I didn't know you liked to ride horses."

"Oh, I love it!" she cries excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "We should take Roland sometime."

He nods, saying that's a great idea. God, he loves how she so naturally includes Roland in their plans; it brings him a type of joy he never knew existed.

"Maybe over spring break," he says, "we can find a ranch somewhere out of town and take a little trip."

"That sounds lovely," Regina smiles softly, moving to uncross her legs and drape them over his lap again. "It seems so far away, but it'll be here before we know it." She tells him that Mary and David's wedding is the first weekend of the break, so they could leave after that.

Robin agrees, saying he'll start looking over the next few weeks for a good place to go. "Speaking of breaks," he states, his hand absentmindedly caressing up and down her calf, "Thanksgiving break is next week."

Regina rolls her eyes, dramatically throwing her head back with a groan. "And I am _not_ looking forward to this week," she laughs. "The kids are going to be _wild_ knowing the break is almost here."

He chortles, saying it can't be that bad.

She gives him the most serious, deadpan look he's ever received at that, saying he's never seen twenty-three first graders all crammed into one room, hyped up knowing they get a whole week off of school.

"I stand corrected," he snorts, laying one hand over his heart and the other up in the air in surrender. "I'm jealous you and Roland have the whole week off, though," he adds.

Smirking, she says that'll be nice. "He and I can hang out and make handprint turkeys like he's been begging me to do."

They laugh, Regina saying she'll need to remember to bring home the paint from her classroom. "You have Wednesday off, right?"

He nods, confirming he'll be able to stay home Wednesday through Sunday. "I'm very much looking forward to it. My new guy, Al, has been driving me a little crazy."

"Oh, no," she giggles, running a hand along his shoulder and into the hair at the back of his neck. "How come?"

He tells her how his new employee has been a little _too_ overeager, always at his side asking how he can help and what he can do. "I need him to learn to be a bit more independent."

Regina smiles, saying he might be better after Robin's been away for a few days.

"Oh, god," Robin groans, leaning his head against the back of the couch. "I forgot he'll be working Wednesday without me. Remind me to keep my phone turned off all day."

Regina snickers, shaking her head. "Stop," she chuckles, swatting at his chest. She grabs the remote, turning the television up two more notches, but still barely watching it.

They spend the next handful of minutes sipping slowly at their wine and making plans for the break. He knows they have their playdate with Henry and Neal, which will be fun, and he tells Regina he will take Roland to the science museum while she's out Black Friday shopping with Mary Margaret. "Maybe David will want to escape and go to the museum with you boys," she giggles.

It's not a bad idea, actually, Robin thinks, telling her he'll give him a call this week and see if he wants to join him. "Might make it a guys trip and have Neal and Henry tag along, too."

"There you go!" she laughs, saying it actually sounds like a lot of fun. "Maybe Mary and I can join you boys after we get some Christmas shopping done."

With an enthusiastic nod, Robin taps on her legs, gently moving them from his lap to the floor. He stands, grabbing their wine glasses and walking them into the kitchen. He rinses them out and places them in the dishwasher before heading back into the living room.

He watches her for a moment, the glow of her cellphone illuminating her face as she scrolls through her social media, smiling to herself. She's so beautiful, and he's overwhelmed with how much he loves her.

He walks back to the couch, reaching out a hand toward her. "We should go to bed," he says.

"It's only nine o'clock," she whines, saying they didn't even get to the best part of the movie.

He laughs, "You're not even watching it," shaking his head in disbelief. "And besides," a wolfish grin grows on his face at that, pulling her up from the couch and into his side, capturing her lips with his. "I didn't say I wanted to sleep."

She pulls back, arms looping around his neck as she jumps up with an elated laugh, wrapping her legs around his waist. Robin chuckles, cupping her rear to hold her in place. Regina leans down, kissing his lips heatedly, moaning into their mouths. Breaking apart, she twitches her eyebrows up seductively, murmuring into the space between their lips, "Take me to bed, Mr. Locksley."

He kisses her once more, pulling apart long enough to make a quip pleading with her to call him that in bed.

"So you'll be the teacher… maybe _Professor_ Locksley?" she grins, biting the inside of her cheek when she sees the look of pure lust on his face.

Moving toward the hallway, her legs still wrapped around his waist, he groans, saying she's been a very naughty girl and missed her homework assignment. "I think you need to come to my office to discuss your options for making up the work."

Breaking character, they both laugh, Regina shaking her head. "Just take me to bed, Robin."

She leans down, tongue melding with his as he walks them into the bedroom, laying her down on the mattress. She looks up into his eyes, pulling him down by the collar of his shirt. Fuck, he loves this woman. Loves that they can be silly and playful, or serious and heated, but no matter what, he can always feel the love radiating from their bodies.

She lifts his shirt up and off, tossing it to the foot of the bed. "I love you, Robin," she declares, reveling in the fact that she can say it so freely now. It's been almost two weeks since they told each other their true feelings, and it still sends a thrill through him when she says it to him.

Robin beams at her words, adding, "And I love you. Very much." And with that, he leans down, kissing her lips, deepening it when he hears another moan reverberate from the back of her throat.

Clothes are discarded haphazardly, landing in a pile on the floor while he bestows kisses from her jaw to her navel.

He kisses along her thigh, listening to her sighs and mewls of pleasure. His blue eyes flick up to hers, smirking when he sees she's already writhing beneath him. She's playing with her breasts, and he's suddenly jealous of her hands. He kisses back up her body, tongue swirling around her pert nipple.

"Mmm," she moans, hands tangling in his hair. She reaches down, taking his hard length in her hands and giving it a few pumps, pulling a moan from him as well.

"Professor Locksley," she gasps, tilting her head back further into the pillow.

He grins as his tongue continues to toy with her nipples, and his hand reaches down, running along her entrance, making sure she's wet.

She groans as his fingers sink inside her wet heat, and his mouth meets hers, tongues crashing against one another's. She moans his name again, whispering a, "Fuck me, Professor," and _fuck_, that is actually very, very hot.

He tries to stay in character, telling her this is her makeup assignment so she better do a thorough job, but he can't do it for very long. They both giggle, Regina saying maybe roleplay dirty talk isn't their thing, causing him to snort.

He adds a third finger, bringing them back to what they are doing, and the pad of his hand rubs against her clit, causing her to squirm underneath him. She begs him to fuck her again, and he's never been one to be able to deny her for very long.

Grabbing a condom from the nightstand, he slips it on, placing another set of kisses down her jawline and between her breasts, the salt from the tiny beads of sweat already forming there making his cock jump in anticipation. He lines himself up at her entrance, their eyes lock with each others as he slides in, the moan she lets out spurring him on further.

He thrusts into her, her hands gripping at his shoulders, nails digging in just slightly enough that he knows he'll have half moon shaped dents for the next few hours. "Fuck, love," he grunts, "You feel so good."

Moaning, she leans up, sucking on his neck, trailing her tongue up to his ear when she kisses his lobe, sending a shiver down his spine.

His hips thrusts again, harder this time, and they both cry out at the sensation, Regina moaning a, _Yeah, _and, _Just like that, baby_.

His one hand takes hers, joining their fingers together as they rest next to her head, while his other hand reaches down, his thumb rubbing against her swollen clit. She tells him that feels good, she wants more of that, _Harder, faster_, and he follows her instructions, wanting to bring them both the best pleasure he can.

He doesn't need to give her much direction, having her around and under him is plenty for him. He's a simple man when it comes to his needs, especially with Regina Mills. One look from him, and he's a goner, let alone having her body beneath his.

His hips rut into her one, two, three more times before he can feel her walls clenching around him, quivering as they prepare for her release. Without much warning, Regina unlocks their fingers, grabbing him by the shoulders and rolling them over in one fluid motion.

She rides his cock, her hands landing behind her on his thighs as she bounces up and down. Robin bites his lip, loving the image of her above him, breasts bouncing as she takes all of him in.

He thrusts his hips up into her, causing her to cry out. She tangles one hand in her own long, dark hair, tilting her head back with a loud moan. Her other hand grips harder on his thigh as she tells him, "I'm so cl-close."

He smiles, knowing just what she needs. He moves one hand up to tweak her nipple, then moves it over to the next one, bringing them both to hardened peeks. His other hand caresses up and down her thigh before finding her clit again, watching as she slides up and down his cock, coating him in her juices.

She grinds her hips against his, and he hisses out, "Reginaaaa," as he feels his own climax building. He has to look away from where they're joined, the sight of his cock sliding in and out of her almost too much to bear. He looks up at her face then, enraptured by her beauty. He loves this woman so much, shit, she makes him feel so good.

Regina moans, encouraging him to let go, saying she's not far behind. She leans down, kisses his lips passionately, if not a little sloppily, but he doesn't care. He captures her lips in his, tongues meeting before they pop apart with matching cries of each others names. Her hands are on his chest now, bearing down as she writhes against his length.

His thighs clench, the sensation of his orgasm taking over. He moans her name, thrusting into her a half-dozen more times before he's spilling his seed into the condom, shouting her name.

He slips out from her, but she's still chasing her release, so he reaches down, playing with her clit to help her get there. She moans, biting her lip as he sinks two fingers into her. She begs for another, riding his fingers as his palms slaps against her clit. She rolls onto her back, and he pinches her clit between his thumb and forefinger, rolling it between the pads of his fingers. She nods frantically, shouting a, _Yes, yes, yessssss_, as she comes, her climax coating his cock and fingers.

She breathes deeply as the sensation of her orgasm surrounds her. His fingers move inside of her for a few beats until she can't handle it anymore. He smirks when she pushes his fingers away then removes his condom, kissing her cheek before getting up to throw it away in the bathroom trash can. He comes back with a warm washcloth, cleaning her up as she lays there, spent and completely satiated.

He tosses the washcloth onto the floor, cuddling up in the bed with her and pulling the sheet up around their naked, bodies. They don't need more covers than that right now, both still sweat slicked form their love making, but he knows the fan blowing will eventually send a shiver to both of them.

"I love you," she whispers, placing a kiss to his neck.

Smiling, he affirms, "I love you too," before pressing his lips to the top of her hair.

His limbs feel like jelly right now, satisfyingly relaxed after that, but he wouldn't have it any other way. They kiss the rest of the night away, showing each other just how much they truly love the other all night long, over and over again, thoughts of bad parents and stressful jobs long forgotten.

{*****************************}

_Please review and let me know what you thought. Thanks :)_


	7. Chapter 7

_Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story over the last few months. This story started as a (very long lol) one shot, but I decided to split it into a multi chap (and added things along the way). I hope you guys have enjoyed it. There will also be an epilogue at some point, but for now, here is the final chapter. Please review!_

{**************************}

**Chapter Seven (Final):**

Thanksgiving arrives a week later, and Roland has not stopped talking about tasting Regina's apple pie. She'd proclaimed days ago that it was the best thing she knew how to make, and after receiving pleading puppy dog eyes from _both_ boys, she told him that she couldn't refuse. Seems both Robin and his son are equally enamored with any and all things Regina has cooked for them thus far, so they knew this dessert would be out of this world.

Regina spent the entire night last night, like most evenings now, snuggled into Robin's chest. They've practically been living together for the past few weeks, and Robin can't help but hope that it continues. He's been lucky enough to call her his girlfriend for two wonderful months now, and he thanks his lucky stars every morning when he wakes up beside her that she loves him enough to keep him around. He knows it's early, but he finds himself from time to time dreaming of a future of nights inside of her and mornings wrapped around her. It would be an amazing way to spend a lifetime.

"Something smells delicious," Regina announces, walking into the kitchen.

He's been cooking the turkey since this morning and his batch of brown rice is almost done in the oven. He only has the one oven so her pie will have to bake while they eat their lunch.

"Mm," he hums, wrapping his arms around her from behind as she comes to stand near the stove. "Not as delicious as you," he teases, running his nose along her neck, taking a sniff and then planting a row of kisses up and down her neck.

She giggles, and shivers, turning in his arms to press her lips to his, running her hands through his hair. She gives it a little tug, pulling him closer.

He moans into the kiss, tilting his head to deepen it when he hears an _Ewww, Papa!_ squealed from behind them.

Breaking apart, Regina wipes her lips subtly while Robin rolls his eyes, telling his son that, "People who love each other are allowed to kiss."

Roland chortles at that, another upturn of his nose, before running into the living room to hop onto the couch and finish watching _Sing_.

She takes a step back, glancing over at the vegetables on the stove top. "What time is Marian coming to get him?" Regina asks, turning to stir the carrots with a wooden spoon.

"She'll be here around five," he tells her. "Said she'd be sure to get here before dinner time."

Regina hums, nodding her head. "Sounds good."

The drama with his ex had thankfully died down once she paid a visit to the school last week. Her phone call apologizing to Robin had blown both of them away, and communication with Marian had gotten better over the last few days. Robin was happy, for himself and for Roland, knowing he always wanted a healthy co-parenting relationship with her. It also made Regina feel better, more settled with that aspect of their relationship, which was always a good thing.

She turns on another burner and pours the corn into the pot, stirring it for good measure before adding a dash of salt and pepper.

Robin pats her bottom and gives her a gentle bump of his hip to hers, declaring that he needs to pull the rice out.

Sliding over, she sets the spoon in her hand down and picks up the wine Robin poured for them earlier.

"Roland is so excited for today," she muses, sliding up onto the kitchen counter. She picks up her wine again, taking a sip while watching him set the rice onto the opposite counter.

Robin smiles, both of their heads turning to watch Roland running around the living room with his handprint turkey he'd made at school on Friday. He has it up in the air, and Regina snickers as _Blast off, Mr, Turkey Tail!_ echoes from the other room.

"How could you tell?" Robin jokes with a smirk, eyes glancing down to the various pots on the stove, checking that everything is cooking correctly.

Regina snickers, shaking her head. She explains to him how all of the kids had been so excited last week to make their turkeys, and Roland was most excited when he discovered they could take them home. "We also made Native American headbands," she recounts, lifting a brow. "I haven't seen his yet, though, since we got out of school."

"Oh," he chuckles, pointing his spatula in her direction. "It's around here somewhere, darling, I assure you. He came home on Friday wearing it."

She grins, clearly glad that her time and efforts at school aren't wasted on all of her students. She has said before that she knows some simply throw the crafts they make away, but others are always excited to take them home to show off what they learned, and it makes her happy. It's one of the more entertaining parts of her jobs, the crafts they get to make, but she has to pay for them out of pocket and likes to know her students cherish them (at least for a few days).

Robin sets the spatula down, bending to peer through the oven door at the turkey, then stands, stepping in between her legs. His hands caress softly up and down her thighs as he leans into her. She grins, scrunching her nose in his direction as her arms loop around his neck. Her fingers grip at the back of his head, letting his short hair weave through her fingers as she brings him in for another kiss. She presses one peck to his lips, then another to his jaw, and finally one to the tip of his nose, quickly before Roland notices again.

Breaking apart, Robin sighs contentedly, eyes blinking slowly, lovingly, in her direction. "I love you."

"And I love you," she replies softly, beaming and bopping the end of his nose with her dainty finger.

He grins, dimples shining brightly on his cheeks. "Oh," he says suddenly, snapping his fingers. His hands come to rest back on her knees as he tells her, "I bet he left the headband at Marian's. He was wearing it when she picked him up Saturday before you came over."

"Ah," she chuckles, looking over her shoulder to the living room. She watches Roland sliding to his knees to land Mr. Turkey Tail onto the coffee table, crashing into a tower of Legos he'd apparently built moments ago while they were distracted with one another. "That's probably where it is." She turns her head back to Robin, smiling as her brown eyes catch his blues. "Not that it really matters," she giggles, wrapping her arms around his neck again.

They stay there for a few minutes, wrapped in each other's arms, talking about this and that, and Regina complaining that Thanksgiving break was going by too fast. "The week is almost over," she whines, giving him her best pout. He smirks, knowing she's been enjoying her few days of freedom. "Why can't we have two weeks off?"

Robin snorts, shaking his head. He steps out of her embrace and over to the stove to stir the corn, telling her she's lucky she even gets the week off. "_Some_ people don't even get that luxury."

She rolls her eyes playfully, sassing, "Look, you're the one who chose to work for a museum, not me."

They laugh together, Robin taking a sip of her wine before handing it to her. She sips on the last few drops, placing the empty glass down on the counter. Sliding off the marble countertop, she stands beside him, picking up another large spoon and stirring the pot next to his. "Thanks," he grins down at her, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Welcome," she shrugs nonchalantly. "Figured the more help you had, the sooner we could eat."

Chuckling, Robin agrees. They stir the vegetables a few more times, and Regina slides her oven mitts on, opening the oven door to retrieve the finished turkey. "It smells amazing," she compliments, inhaling deeply as she sets the bird down on the counter behind them. "Good job, Chef."

Robin kisses the tips of his fingers, raising them up in a chef's kiss motion, before thanking her. She giggles, swatting at his rear as she makes her way back over to him. She takes out the casserole that'd been baking on the top shelf of the oven and turns the temperature down so her apple pie can bake slowly while they eat.

After another fifteen minutes, all the other food is ready, filling his house with the most delicious aroma. They pull it all out and plate it before calling Roland into the kitchen.

Once there, the three of them sit and eat, discussing what all Roland wants to do before Thanksgiving break ends.

"Go to the museum!" he exclaims, stabbing a piece of turkey with his fork and stuffing it into his mouth.

Regina agrees that it'll be fun to go see his Papa at work for once. "He's always coming to school to see us, we need to return the favor," she laughs, grinning in Robin's direction.

"That would be great," Robin agrees, saying they can check out the new wildlife observatory he's been working on lately. He's been really excited to get it opened to the public, his team working nonstop lately to get it finished, and he has to admit he's quite proud of how it turned out.

She smiles, placing her hand on his forearm that rests on the table. "Then we will definitely go on Saturday!"

"Yeah!" Roland echoes, clapping his hands together and doing a little dance in his seat before taking a bite of the green bean casserole on his plate.

Chuckling, Robin tells her he'll love having them there. He wants to introduce her to more of his co-workers and show her around more, too. "Everyone is really excited to meet you."

Beaming, she nods her head, saying, "That sounds lovely." She picks up a spoonful of vegetables, taking a bite, a small moan coming from her. "This seasoning you told me to use is to die for."

Robin smirks, knowing she'd love it. "It was all in the vegetable chef's touch, though," he compliments her, encouraging Roland to take a few bites of them. He tells his son that eating his vegetables will make him big and strong when he grows up.

"Like Maui?!"

Robin and Regina laugh at that, looking into each other's eyes. Roland has become obsessed with the movie Moana lately, so if telling him he'll be as strong as Maui will get him to eat his vegetables, then so be it.

"Exactly!" Regina exclaims, eyes lighting up as she convinces his son to eat the healthy bits of his plate as well. He loves watching her, especially with his son; she's adorable. Her face grows serious as she leans closer to Roland, claiming, "Also, anyone who doesn't eat their vegetables can't have apple pie."

At that, Roland's brow furrows, gathering two baby carrots and shoving them into his mouth while shoveling corn onto his fork, ready to be devoured once the carrots are gone. Once he swallows, he promises to eat all his vegetables because he _really reallllly wants that pie_.

"Good," she smiles over at his son, tapping him on the nose. It makes Roland giggle, and Robin's heart swell. They take a few more bites, Roland explaining to Regina his favorite floats in the parade and how he loves to see Santa Claus during it. That comment must spark something in her about the next upcoming holiday, because she looks to him, asking, "So what do you guys usually do for Christmas?"

Robin smiles, disclosing to her that he usually has Roland for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, but Marian, if she's in town, comes to get him Christmas afternoon.

"I get all my presents from Papa and Santa and _then_ I get even more presents at Mama's house!"

She laughs, claiming it sounds like a very exciting holiday. Robin watches as he face grows melancholy for the briefest of moments, and without her having to say anything, he knows exactly what she's thinking. She has her own holiday traditions, he knows, but she'd already admitted to him the other night that things would be different this year. Mary Margaret, whom she usually spent Christmas with, was going to be celebrating with David and his family this year. She could go home, of course, but being stuck there with Cora wouldn't cause anyone to feel the holiday cheer. Her father is going to come visit her the day after Christmas, which he knows she's looking forward to.

Robin can't help but imagine Christmas morning with Roland and Regina by his side, waking up and rushing down the stairs with Roland as he excitedly squeals over all the gifts Santa delivered overnight. It's always adorable to see his son giddy over the new toys, but having Regina there with them would be even better.

He smiles at the thought, hoping to experience it next month in person.

Roland _mmhmm_'s, pulling him from his fantasy, and adds that Robin's parents even send him gifts from England. "Those come in the mail and our mailman has to deliver them to the front porch!"

"That sounds fun!" she exclaims, looking over to Robin with an attempted wink. He'd told her the other night that his parents were going to be surprising Roland this year by flying in a few days before Christmas. He had revealed that he was excited for his mum and dad to properly meet her, which caused her eyes to widen and him to chuckle.

They eat for a few moments in silence before Robin's nose perks up. He sniffs the air and says, "Ah, smells like that pie is done."

"Yesss!" Roland exclaims, pumping his fist in the air, and Regina stands to check on it.

She walks to the oven, cracking the door open to see the crust is turning a nice, golden brown. "It sure is," she announces, slipping her oven mitts on and pulling it from the oven, setting it on the counter to cool.

Robin tells Roland he has to have a clean plate before he can have a slice, so his son grows serious once again and finishes his last few bites of turkey before munching on his roll and rice.

Regina comes over, picking up her and Robin's plates and taking them to the sink. He stands, joining her in the kitchen and stating that he'll clean up.

"You cooked most of the food, baby," she protests sweetly, shaking her head as she steps in front of him at the sink, blocking his way to the dishes. He smirks at her stubbornness, bowing his head in defeat when she proclaims, "I can wash a few plates off."

He chuckles, stepping back with his hands raised in surrender, saying he'll slice the pie while she loads the dishwasher.

"I also bought some vanilla ice cream we can put on top of it," she states, jutting her chin in the direction of the freezer. "Will you grab it, too, please?"

"Sure thing," he agrees, kissing her cheek as he walks by.

Working in comfortable silence for a minute, he's hit with how domestic their life together has become. He never thought walking into his son's new school three months ago for a parent teacher conference would lead to this much happiness, but he's damn sure glad it did.

Roland brings his plate over then, showing both adults that he has, in fact, cleared his plate. "Happy plate! See?!"

"Awesome job, man!" Regina cheers, brushing his curls to one side and taking his plate and fork from his hand.

Robin hands his son a small dish with a piece of apple pie and a scoop of ice cream on it before Roland hurries to the kitchen table to scarf it down.

He fixes them both a slice, too, Regina reminding him, "Don't forget my ice cream!" before they join him back at the table.

The parade will be starting soon, and Roland loves to watch it with rapt attention so he knows his son is trying to finish before it begins.

Once the pie has been consumed, Robin moans, rubbing his belly and telling Regina, "That was the best pie I've ever had." She giggles, saying she's glad he enjoyed it as he takes their plates into the kitchen.

He rinses them off and adds them to the dishwasher before turning it on to run while they watch the parade.

Roland is already settled in the living room, feet tucked under him as he sits in front of the coffee table on the floor playing with Mr. Turkey Tail.

Robin and Regina settle onto the couch, Robin wrapping a plush blanket around their bodies.

She lays her head on his chest then, saying, "That turkey is already hitting me. I could take a nap."

He snorts, kissing her head and assuring her she's more than welcome to nap on him.

An hour later, once the parade is finally over, Roland is sprawled out on his belly, glasses taken off of his face, mouth ajar and fast asleep, handprint turkey dropped next to him on the rug. Robin looks down at Regina and sees she's just waking up from her nap.

She groans, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands. Her face scrunches in that adorable way it does when she's first coming to, not completely aware of her surroundings. Her eyes catch his and a sleepy smile crosses her face.

"Have a good nap?" he whispers, kissing her lips when she sits up a bit.

"Mmm," she purrs, that gravely groan doing things to his body. "I did."

She leans in, pressing her lips more fully to his mouth. It's lingering, and sensual, and all he wants to do it take her upstairs and have his way with her, to show her once again just how much her loves her with every ounce of his soul.

But he also wouldn't mind staying here, wrapped together in this blanket, wasting the day away. He loves this woman, loves more than just the pleasure she brings his body, he loves everything about her (even her fiery temper that she lets flare from time to time). He looks down at her, whispering again, more earnestly, how much he loves and adores her. "You're amazing," he mumbles against her lips, "I'm so lucky to have you." Robin busses his lips to hers once again; it's tender, yet passionate, her hand sneaking out from under the blanket to cup his cheek.

She smiles into the embrace, pulling back to assure him that he's just as wonderful. "I'm just as thankful to have you in my life, you know that, right?" Her eyes mist over, brimming with tears at her words.

"Hey, what's with the tears?" he asks, concerned, wiping one from her cheek. His hand cups her cheek, thumb moving softly against her jawline.

She giggles wetly, looking up to the ceiling and back down to him. "It's stupid," she scoffs at her self, rolling her eyes when she clears her cheeks of the water works. "It's… I just never thought I'd have this." She shrugs pitifully, lip poking out in a sad pout before she links her hand with his on top of the blanket.

Robin knows that her family life was mostly crap, her mother being the royal bitch that she is. And she's never had anyone but Mary Margaret to celebrate the holidays with ever since Daniel left her in college, so he's glad he's been able to give her such a special holiday to remember.

He smiles at her, tears of his own shining in his blue eyes as he says, "Well, I'm glad I have you." Things have been tense with Marian the last few months, but he's tried to make the best of it for Roland's sake. Having Regina in his life as truly been a godsend, bringing him and Roland more laughter and light than he's had in a while. This new job was a great opportunity, and it also brought her into his world. Everything seemed to be working out just as it should.

"I love you," she breathes, gingerly pressing another kiss to his lips.

He looks into her eyes, hoping he's conveying all the love he holds for her while assuring, "I love you, too, my love. So much."

And in this moment, he can't help but think how in this season of thankfulness, he couldn't be more grateful for a new school for his son and new beginnings for him.

He can't wait to see what their future holds.

{******************************}

_There you have it! I hope y'all enjoyed this fluffy little story lol… Please review and let me know what you thought :)_


End file.
